#feel free to correct me when there is a wrong plot or storyline i mentioned

[pastelwitchling]

Hiii,

I have been following you since RNM (I haven’t watched the show after season 2 I think, only occasionally followed some Malex stuff on here) when I saw you posting about the new Percy Jackson show on Disney. I hope I don’t overstep but I have been dying to talk to someone and share my two cents. This is pretty much a rant so feel free to ignore it.

This rant stems mostly from the fact that I expected things to be closer to the plot in the books.

I must say that I am disappointed after so many people hyped up the show. To be honest, I expected more, especially because RR is involved so deeply and critiqued the films so much which let me to believe that he’d be more peculiar about the show (and I guess that’s true, just in a different way). And I agree that while the show does include more actual scenes from the books right down to copying lines directly, they miss a bit of the character of the books. It started strongly and got worse from there. That being said, the show is fine though I am not sure I will stick around for the second season should there be one.

What annoys me the most is - and that is something you touch on regularly, correct me if I am wrong - that they tell more than they show.

In the books, Percy figures out that Mr D is Dionysus, in the show he gets told.

In the books, it’s suggested that Hades is ‘the god who turned’ and if I remember correctly he’s also directly told in the show (again, correct me if I am wrong).

In the books, he figures out who Aunt Em is, in the show he gets told.

In the books he agonises over who of his friends will betray him, keeping the prophecy mostly to himself. In the show he talks about it.

In the books he figures out the time trap himself, they don’t know it before they enter like they do in the movies as you already mentioned.

For me, this not only is boring but it also takes away a big part of Percy’s character imo. He’s smarter than his opponents believe, can put two and two together - at least in the books. To me personally, he’s not the hero he’s in the books. The scene where he surprised me the most was when they were on the Arch and he tricked Annabeth and “sacrificed” himself.

Also, the whole encounter with Aries was much too harmless imo, as was Gabe and the argument Sally had with him (it looked more like a lover’s quarrel to me). Maybe it’s because it’s a Disney show, I honestly don’t know but I miss Percy’s sass and the more heavy topics which were always addressed in the books but never really spelt out (child abuse, abusive relationships in general).

Oh and the solstice part?? Such a shame to change such a big part of the storyline (the pacing, the urgency, the despair) once again.

And that they took away Annabeth’s love for architecture is a crime in itself. It made her much more approachable because the way she talks and races about it in the books is easy to understand for people in fandoms. I don’t feel that in the show.

I’m sorry if this is overstepping a boundary or too negative, so you can just delete if you don’t feel like answering. But I agree with you that we should be allowed to criticise.

Hi. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to critique with me, so that's mighty kind of you 😂 (I'm not being sarcastic, I know it looks like I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not being sarcastic, I've actually been waiting to be able to talk to someone about this stuff, so my wholehearted thank you.)

Anyway, this is a lot (which is awesome), so I'm just going to go through it bit by bit.

First of all, I don't blame you for not wanting to watch rnm after season 2. Not kidding, I'd deliberated it for a bit after The Episode That Must Not Be Named, and if it wasn't for Alex, I wouldn't have bothered anymore. But anywhodle.

I'm sorry to hear you might not want to watch the second season of pjo. Personally, I enjoy the show for what it is now, and just love Percy Jackson too much to ever stop supporting the adaptations, but I totally understand the disappointment. Honestly, if RR is as involved as I think he is, and this might get me threatened, but that might be the reason the show isn't as strong as it could be. I think a lot of people forget that there's a difference between books and movies/shows. In a book, you can have characters just talking for several pages. In a movie/show, it's boring. I think, again, RR was so focused on not doing what the movies did that he missed the fact that it was at least entertaining because they had Chris Columbus behind the wheel. He directed the first two Harry Potter movies, and I think we can all agree that those movies proved he can do atmosphere and fun. If I hadn't known that a book author was so involved in the show adaptation, I might've been able to guess because a lot of it feels like someone moving the pages to the screen with no consideration in regards to "how do we make this visually interesting?"

What's important to RR seems to be more that they adapt more scenes of the books, which is what the movies didn't always do, rather than keeping things entertaining for such a different medium.

Yes, I definitely think there's more telling than showing, and in some aspects, there's just completely erasing. I've said this before and I'll say it again; if I watched the show before I read the books, I wouldn't have completely understood what was going on, why anybody thinks Percy's the lightning thief, what the quest really is, or even that Percy is a forbidden child. I got ALL of this information super easily from the movie, and the urgency of everything going on, because it knew it had to present all of this information in simple and entertaining ways, and it did. With a few lines, the movie managed to do what the show couldn't in several passages.

I'm not kidding, the way the show just constantly has characters standing there talking and talking and talking, basically taking passages right out of the book, as though that makes it a good adaptation? I couldn't follow half of what they were saying because they mumble their way throughout. No one ever really laughs. I think Percy smiles once in amusement throughout the whole show (the scene with that lizard thing during Capture the Flag).

RR was so upset that they'd raised the ages in the movies to seventeen, but what does it say when the movies starring seventeen year olds are more fun, a lot brighter and more colorful, and faster paced and more ENERGETIC than the adaptation with the kids??

Percy has shown little to no leadership so far, he's just kind of on the sidelines because Annabeth has to be the one to solve the crimes, Annabeth is suddenly the one talking back to the gods, Annabeth is the one taking care of everything. It's like RR's forgotten that this is Percy's hero journey. The entire series takes him on this arc so that he can lead the other demigods into war during the Battle of Manhattan.

Look, all I'm saying is that by the end of the Lightning Thief book, I totally believed that Percy was going to grow into a great hero that other demigods would trust to lead them into battle, but I don't see myself feeling the same way at the end of season one of the show because they've been so busy putting Annabeth in the spotlight that Percy hasn't had much of a role, at least not a role that seems in any way significant for a forbidden child of the Big Three gods.

At this point, it really feels like they could've put any demigod instead of him, and they would've done the same thing!

And yeah, I'm sad that we haven't gotten to see anything of Annabeth's fangirling over architecture, that was her big love! Instead, the show acts like it'd be too childish if she had any... interests? Hobbies? We never see her reading, we never see her admiring any buildings or structures, we never see her being a, you know, twelve-year-old girl.

I don't know, I do enjoy this show, but like I said before, if RR thinks this is the best adaptation of his books, then I'm convinced he hasn't read his own books in far too long.

[fauzhee10069]

MYK S2: Farya, the very important character who died a nobody

You may had your glorious and wonderful story in this show

When I had to sacrifice my role and played the role of villain for your story, showing how miserable I was

But at least I got my death scene depicted beautifully and very peaceful

When in your death scene, you got hanged like a random hatun

(the role you should get from the beginning)

Because I am Haseki Ayşe Sultan

The most important and prominent woman in Murad IV’s life as his consort

…This is what will happen when you give too much importance with such overly high position to a fictional character in historical drama: being a royal-born princess of Hungary, Murad’s legal wife, mother of two sehzade and potential next Valide Sultan yet died like a random cameo hatun without ideal funeral as a sultana…

Normally in historical drama, the supportive characters become the characters that would help to move certain plot for the most prominent historical figure as main character/protagonist, some might be lesser prominent historical figures and some might be even fictional characters. In Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Hürrem had some fictionals like Sumbul agha, Nigar kalfa, Fahriye hatun and many others as her allies and then some fictionals like Prenses Isabella, Fihruze hatun and Nazenin hatun as her rivals. But in Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem, perhaps more than ¾ season 2 had many historical figures as supportive characters that were used to move the plot for the fictional character who became the temporary main character, met.. prenses Farya Bethlen who would become Farya sultan, the Hungarian prenses who almost would be the next Valide Sultan but missed it.

Farya wanted to be a very special & important character, special by being the princess who could fight, important enough to be considered as main character. Thus being paired with Murad, the male main lead would give her more importance and still, being the warrior Farya she was, she still needed a scene for building up their chemistry by being Murad's damsel-in-distress when she was kidnapped by Ayşe’s men.

Haseki Ayşe gave her her dramatic love story, if not for her, Murad wouldn't marry Farya and made her his legal wife. Thanks for Ayşe because if not for her Farya won't get her dramatic assault & miscarriage. Farya's story got more dramatic tone when the doctor said that her condition became almost impossible to conceive again, thanks for it, the moment she got pregnant again, the moment when her babies were considered as miracle, yes.. she had twins, two sehzade (sons). From got deemed as unable to have a child to be able to have twins.. sehzade (who were considered more valuable than princesses). Farya's story became more dramatic than the famous powerful sultana Hürrem and Kösem ever had when they had their first babies (good thing that Ayşe was already dead when this was happened). Ayşe did things the most for Farya's plot. Murad's purpose (besides he was busy with government matters & some conflict with his mother) for Farya was only romantically in love with her. Farya didn't have to do anything (other than did some unremarkable things by befriended Atike and taught her swordfight).

Farya wanted her rival Ayşe to be suffered from her consequences. Still Farya wished to be a strong character without any flaw, she wanted to appear strong yet innocent, thus she attacked Ayşe the moment she had chance (remember the scene when she drowned Ayşe and pointing a knife to her) instead of doing a little dirty tricks to expose Ayşe (see how Kösem was able to defeat Safiye sultan). Drowning and pointing knife to someone are not innocent deeds, these are murder attempts and yet she did it like it was normal (the drowning scene had many people witnessed it yet no one took any action nor thought that this is bad and/or need to report it to either Kösem sultan or Murad).

Imagined if I'm drowning someone on the pool when I suspected her that she was the cause of my accident (with majority of people on the pool knew that I had an accident), with many people there, will they sympathize to me? No- more importantly, will they think what I did is right? I think no, they likely will think that "What're you doing? Are you crazy? Are you really sure that she did that do you? What if she report you instead? You realize right that we were watching you? You almost kill her!!" other people will be like "Who is that brunette girl who drowned the other poor blonde one? Why she did that? Is she pyscho? Thank god that blonde girl is still alive."

Also remember that Farya never did anything worthy to prove her hunch that Ayşe was the culprit, it was Gulbahar sultan who gave her her confession letter to prove it. The plot only gave her favorable event when she happened to accidently saw Ayşe talking with Gulbahar. Didn’t Farya also witnessed it? When Kösem executed the offenders who did the assault to her. I wonder why didn’t she tell Murad that the offenders already got executed by Kösem then asked him to do investigation to catch the main mastermind (Ayşe) instead letting him executed huge numbers of people who some of them were innocents?

Farya started to lose her importance when Ayşe had gone. She needed a new character to driven her plot and give her importance. Here came Sanavber hatun, she was Murad's actual consort besides Ayşe. Thanks for Sanavber, Farya had moment with Murad when she felt betrayed and started to doubt Murad's love for her. Sanavber gave her spices to her love story, now Farya's romantic story was not boring anymore, she had conflict & lover quarrel with Murad, her love story became a bit realistic yet more dramatic. What Farya needed to do was mad at Murad, screamed & threw him a tantrum. Murad immediately proved his love to her by letting her berated him till she tired and then hugged her, like "see... I love you." This conflict lasted very short but Farya still needed to be important. Thus in favor to Farya character, Sanavber had to play as Persian Spy. What importance Sanavber gave to Farya? Yes, Farya could become a heroine now. Farya played heroine by making her the first one who discovered Sanavber as spy, thus Farya became the very important person who will investigate her. Still, Farya’s method of investigation was never effective, she used to kidnapped the suspect and interrogate her, threatening that she would hurt her if she refused to talk and sometimes she really did hurt her. Compared to Kösem, Farya had no better way to effectively threaten them. Also Farya relied too much on suspect’s confession, of course the suspect won’t immediately confess and kept denying her accusation, it’ll be better if she does some investigation secretly. Farya was accusing Sanavber as spy in front of Kösem with no evidence in her hand and Sanavber was able to deny her accusation, Farya suggested to find Idris agha (maybe to interrogate him) but Sanavber calmly twisted her words that Idris agha will be her witness and defends her. It was Kösem who actually found the solid proof that Sanavber was a spy by ordered Haci agha, her right hand man to keep an eye on her had found the note written by Idris agha, those note informing about Gulbahar’s plan was a solid proof that Sanavber was a spy. The value of Farya’s heroine only went that her accusation was right. Also compared to Halime sultan in season 1 who was prepared and already set up as Kösem’s next enemy after Safiye, Sanavber suddenly appeared just right when Ayşe’s role would be done. What more shame is because there were not any interaction between Sanavber and Haseki Ayşe at all whereas Halime had many interaction with Safiye sultan. This indirectly indicated that Sanavber (and perhaps Ayşe too) was created in MYK only for Farya whereas Halime, despite not being the main lead in MYK besides  Kösem still had her own story and importance as the Valide Sultan during Mustafa I’s first and second short-lived reigns (though of course I’m aware that Halime was much more prominent historical figure compared to Sanavber).

After Sanavber left, Farya almost lost her purpose again as a character. Her enemies all were gone. Now, Farya became an ordinary wife and companion to Murad, her warrior gimmick already long gone at this point, only an useless scene when she had her romantic moment with Murad and her miracle babies (the role that should be occupied by Haseki Ayşe historically). There was the scene when Farya met Sinan pasha (the traitor who worked with Gulbahar) and he told her that Kösem had arranged a council meeting behind Murad’s back. Perhaps Farya wanted to play a heroine again by telling this news to Murad. Also interesting thing here is that Sinan told her that with her sons as the heirs to the throne, she would be a future Valide Sultan. Thus, her conflict with Kösem had begun, too bad this was not built early on, their rivalry felt empty when the next episode had Kösem murdered her. Because Farya wanted to be the nicest protagonist from the beginning, having conflict with Kösem (the more important main protagonist) was something that she wanted (or the writers wanted) to avoid. Because to build a conflict, one of them had to start it first, either one of them had to do something bad/terrible to the others. Compared to Safiye vs Kösem in season 1, Farya and Kösem rarely interacted to each other. It seemed that both being main leads in season 2, they had their own separate problems and nemesis whereas normally the main leads of a show used to interact with each other, be it as partners/ally or rivals. Even to finish Farya’s character, Kösem’s character got sacrificed. Kösem had to kill off Farya because she was a hindrance to her plan and had the biggest influence along with Silahtar that led Murad to bring back the rule of fraticide, not because she was an enemy for her. Kösem’s character got reaction like “Kösem is such a bad person, she becomes so power hungry she killed her son’s wife and the mother of his heirs” from majority audiences (especially Farya fans).

Eventually, Farya died like a random hatun who only hindered the big main protagonist Kösem sultan’s way. This is what will happen when you give too much importance with such overly high position to a fictional character in historical drama, being a royal-born princess of Hungary, Murad’s legal wife, mother of sehzade and potential next Valide Sultan yet died like a random cameo hatun without ideal funeral as a sultana, especially when there was Ayşe who historically was Murad IV’s most beloved woman and his haseki. So, Farya basically stole Haseki Ayşe's role. Farya’s miracle babies also died like nobodies, after her dramatic assault (led to her miscarriage) that made her fans infuriated and felt sorry to her then her miracle babies that cheered her fans up died in the next episode (this should be expected since Murad IV had no surviving son into adulthood).

And those miracle babies (sehzade Selim and sehzade Suleyman)? one of them was credited as Haseki Ayşe’s son instead (¬‿¬).

PS:

When I referring Farya (like Farya wanted this, Farya wished that etc), it has nothing to do with the actress Farah. This only meant for hating the character named “Farya” and how she was written using her POV, not hating the actress.

(single picture) meme version:

[soyforramen]

If you have time/energy, 41 for the bughead prompts pls! It’s the “overhears they have feelings for you.”

Now that i finally have the time, here’s some fluff to counter the angst!

-

             Betty paused at the door to the Blue and Gold office when she heard voices.  This late in the day, it was usually only her and Jughead still working on the college newspaper. Or, rather, while she continued working diligently on page layouts while he worked on homework on the couch.

             “It’s not that big of a deal,” Jughead said.  “Right?  So I should just say it.”

             She peeked in through the crack in the door and saw him pacing back and forth, his hands waving wildly in the air.

             “If it’s not that big of a deal, why haven’t you said it?” came a reply from Toni.  

             Strange; Toni was always the most punctual person on their team.  Her photos had been ready to print for over a week, and she rarely spent her free time in the office..  Unless Jughead had dragged her into his usual shenanigans regarding things that went bump in the night?

             “Because –“

             Jughead stopped and made a pained noise. Unsympathetic, Toni snickered, and even Betty had to cover her mouth from laughing.  As much as she enjoyed his company, even Betty had to admit it was amusing to see him get so wrapped up in himself.

             “It’s just three words,” Toni pointed out.  “And it’s not like it will kill you to say it.”

             “She might.”

             “Betty is not going to murder you –“

             “Not her, Cheryl.”

             This time, Toni burst out in peals of laughter that covered up Jughead’s response. Curious to hear her cousin’s name, Betty leaned closer to the open door.   The fiery tempered red-head was as much of a fan of Jughead’s as he was of hers, and that wasn’t saying much of anything.  

             “Cheryl is why you’re afraid to say ‘I love you‘?”

             Jughead grumbled something inaudible, and Betty glanced up and down the halls to make sure she was alone.  This close to information so pertinent to her life – Jughead was in love???? When did that happen??? Why??? - the last thing she needed was someone as boisterous as Kevin or Veronica yelling her name down the hall. Pressing herself against the door frame, Betty bit her lip and tried to calm her pounding heart.

             “The last time someone even mentioned asking Betty out –“

             Betty had to bite her tongue to keep from starting.  A pen fell from her pocket and echoed in the empty halls. There was a silence, and she waited to be found out.  

             “That was because it was Reggie Mantle doing the asking,” Toni pointed out, completely ignorant of being eavesdropped on.  She continued in a less than sure voice. “Besides, Cheryl … doesn’t dislike you.  She’d probably even be happy with you if you got Betty out of the apartment for something that wasn’t school or work.  You know, like a date?  The thing people ask about when they like someone?”

             Now too nervous to stay still, Betty rushed from the door, clutching her bag to her chest, and fled to the bathroom.  As soon as the door closed behind her, she couldn’t help but clasp her hands together in glee.  She and Jughead had danced around each other for over a year now and the closest they could get to anything called ‘dating’ had been a late-night stake out to see if the Dean of the Journalism school really was moonlighting as a click bait writer for BuzzFeed.

             She breathed deeply to calm her nerves. Try as she might, she couldn’t contain the thrill of hearing that Jughead Jones, the guy she’d been crushing on since freshman orientation, liked her.  Not just liked.  He loved her.  Betty couldn’t help but hug herself.  

             Straightening her shirt and steeling herself to be as forward as she imagined Cheryl would be, Betty stepped out of the bathroom and made her way, once more, to the Blue and Gold office. As she neared the office, Toni emerged and sent her a wink.  

             “Good luck in there, boss,” Toni said with a salute.

             Betty bit down a response and opened the door.   Jughead jumped up as if electrocuted, his face white at the sight of her.  Any other time, Betty would have rushed towards him, asking him twenty different questions to try and figure out why he looked so ill.  Now, though, it was all she could do to keep from smiling.

             “Good evening, Jughead,” she chirped.  

             He stammered a reply and she set her backpack on her desk.  

             “You know what I really love?” she asked, unable to help herself, especially when a faint blush rose to his cheeks.  “Those wontons you got last week.  Where was that from again?”

             “Klump’s Kafeteria,” Jughead said.  “Did you get my article?”

             Betty nodded, disappointed he’d jumped so quickly to business.  “I did. I really love,” she paused, sitting down on her desk and pulling her laptop out, “the way you captured the emotions in your review.  Especially whereyou talk about the mise-en-scene and how well it pulled everything together. It made the recommendation that more meaningful.”

             “Honestly?  I couldn’t stand the movie,” Jughead said.  He rolled his eyes and sat on the corner of her desk.  

             And suddenly, the spell was broken, and her regular, normal Jughead was back in front of her.  She watched his face as he complained about plot pacing and script-incongruities.  Only half paying attention, Betty wondered if he’d finally make a move.   It would be even better, though, if he’d finally notice that she’d been flirting this whole time.

             “Regardless, it was a very well written piece,” Betty said when he’d finished.  “You know what I also love?”

             Jughead raised an eyebrow at her, finally beginning to notice a trend.   “Those weird blue macaroons that taste like Peto-Bismol from Chez Bonuit?”

             She flicked her pen at him and scowled.  “You just have a warped sense of taste after eating all that grease and sugar at Pop’s.”

              “And yet who’s the one also asking me to bring them a strawberry milkshake whenever they find out I’m eating all that grease and sugar?”

             “It’s one of the little things I love you for,” Betty said, slipping it in as casually as she could. “That and the lattes you bring me after a late night editing.”

              Jughead’s eyes flew open and heat bubbled up in her cheeks.  Pressing on, Betty opened up a browser on her computer and turned it to him.

             “I also love, and I hope you will too, that R.R.J. Swift is putting out a new Play of Chairs book next month.”

             His face light up and he crowded in next to her, their faces a few inches from the screen.  “How did I miss this?  There’s no way they could get that to print so quickly.”

             “Everyone in printing was told it was a new Donna Sweet novel,” Betty said, clicking a few times until a different website came up, “so it’s been hush-hush until he broke the news an hour ago.”*

             “Finally, we can see what happens to Trienne of Barth.”

             She elbowed him lightly.  “I can’t believe you still like her after she betrayed Don Ice.”

             “I can’t help it.  I love her storyline,” he shot back, his eyes searching hers.

             Undeterred, Betty thrust out her chin.  “And I love –“

             “Yes, yes, we get it,” Toni said.  “You two are trapped in a bubble of love.”

             They both turned, blushing, to the door.  

             “Sorry to interrupt the futile flirting, but I forgot my notes,” Toni said, walking towards the couch.  She held up a notebook and shook it at them.  “Just kiss her already Jones, or I will.  And since the last time that happened I ended up going to prom with your girlfriend...”

             “She’s right, you know” Betty said when Toni left.

             Jughead cleared his throat.  “About which part?”

             “You should kiss me.”

             “I –“

             Whatever his protestations might have been, Jughead smartly decided to ignore them.  Instead, he leaned towards Betty, who happily met him more than half-way.

             A few months later, when Jughead claimed their first date was at a Play of Chairs release party, Betty couldn’t help but cover a laugh.  She loved that he was technically correct, even if it was only a party of two.

*(No, I do not know how printing works, nor do I care enough to Google this or other characters from the series.  Apologies if I’m wrong.  If I am, just pretend they’re talking about Minecraft.)

[scoobydoofenshmirtz]

LGBTQ Supernatural Character Breakdown

Okay so yesterday I posted this lovely screenshot of yet another stupid reddit post about spn that I thought was funny and shrugged off as another reddit dudebro thing. However, then @thehappyearth went and actually read through the thread and reported back with results. The opinions of OP were unsurprising, but they got me thinking. Part of the post reads "I would prefer a neutral show that doesn't aim to include LGBT people in nearly every episode.. its unrealistic unless they are in a location where this holds true..example (California)". Now that's ridiculous for a lot of reasons. 1) Not having LGBT people in a show does not make it "neutral." Cishet is not the default human experience, neither is male, nor white nor able-bodied, etc. 2) It's not "unrealistic" to have LGBT in literally any location in the world. We exist everywhere you go. Yes, certain places tend to attract LGBT adults and families due to their culture, legal protections, history, etc. but it's not like there's something in San Francisco water that just makes people there gay at a higher percentage. I assure you, reddit user, there are LGBTQ people in every single place Sam and Dean have visited in the show. 3) like literally it's just homophobic shut up reddit bros. ANWAY...

But what really got me thinking was the "nearly every episode" comment. Like, dude. What show are you watching? But then I thought...wait how many LGBTQ characters actually are there in Supernatural, so I did a little digging and compiled this list (google sheets) of every LGBTQ character to appear on screen. This doesn't include characters who are only mentioned (although there aren't many to add with that anyway). I looked into some different criteria and I included each character, the number of episodes they appeared in, their first and last episode, how many episodes they appeared in as a confirmed LGBTQ character, their sexuality, if they speak or not, and if they died. I also included a description and notes, and noted which characters were in episodes nominated for GLAAD awards. I also included "ambiguous" characters who I either felt weren't "confirmed" as LGBTQ (like the man who is possibly a gay porn star or the sassy yorkie) but in that realm, or characters where there were bigger issues that make it more complicated (Dean, Crowley, and Rowena).

And then I got curious and made a whole second spreadsheet with a list of all the episodes featuring confirmed LGBTQ characters. I included which characters are featured, if it includes an LGBTQ couple, if it features an LGBTQ storyline important to the plot, if it features a recurring LGBTQ character, if any LGBTQ character dies, if it was nominated for a GLAAD award, and my opinion on if it's homophobic. I only included episodes where a character was confirmed LGBTQ when it aired, however I did include retroactively LGBTQ characters when listing what recurring characters are featured.

Some findings under the cut:

I counted a total of 32 on screen (reasonably) confirmed LGBTQ characters in all of Supernatural (for the purposes of this I have counted Charlie and apocalypse Charlie as separate characters). Now when I say confirmed this is a range from Charlie to characters who had a same sex kiss in the background. There is a chance I have missed some, so if you look through this and notice someone missing, please let me know. (Also sidenote I say LGBTQ but there's no confirmed trans characters as far as I could tell). That's an average of 2.13 per season. There are 9 recurring characters and 23 that only appear once. There are 6 with 3 or more episodes. The only characters that appeared in more than 2 episodes while confirmed as an LGBTQ character are Charlie (apocalypse world and regular) and Chuck. Of all these characters 10 are dead (with three of these presumably resurrected off screen) and 22 survived.

If we break it down by era Kripke had 4 with 0 recurring characters and half and half dead/alive. This is .8 per season average. Gamble had 3 and (at the time) none were recurring and none died. This is 1.5 per season average. Carver had 10 including making Chuck bisexual. Charlie also became a recurring character (then she died). This is 2.5 per season average. Dabb has 15 including Castiel and Claire. This included 7 recurring characters and 8 one offs, and 8 alive and 7 dead. This is 3.75 per season average.

As far as sexualities go, we have 3 (presumably) lesbian characters (2 Charlies and Donna's niece) 3 gay characters (Max Banes and 2 one offs who die) and 2 bisexual characters (Chuck and Noah the gorgon). No single character ever refers to themself by any sexuality as far as I can tell, but Alan J Corbett (Ghostfacers intern) and Conner (from the church) are both referred to as gay by other characters. Everyone else I based on context. All the other characters were unspecified as to their specific sexualities.

In terms of episodes with confirmed LGBTQ characters (so characters who at the time the episode was written were reasonably confirmed as LGBTQ) we have 39 total, a bulk of them being episodes that feature either Chuck or Charlie. That's about 12% of all SPN episodes. If you take out episodes that only include either Chuck or Charlie as the confirmed character you have 20 left which is 6.25% of all SPN episodes.

There are 12 episodes that feature an LGBTQ couple, 3.75% of all episodes. There are, by my count, 9 episodes with an LGBTQ storyline important to the plot or 2.8% of episodes. I know this is more subjective but I included Ghostfacers, Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo, LARP and the Real Girl, Sacrifice, The Chitters, Wayward Sisters, Ouroboros, Gimme Shelter, and Despair.

If we break down writers from who has the most episodes with confirmed LGBTQ characters Robbie Thompson comes in the lead with 9, Buckleming next with 6, Bobo and Dabb with 5, Yockey and Glynn with 4, Davy Perez with 3, and Nick Vaught, Nancy Won, Nancy Weiner, Eric Kripke, Jeremy Carver, Sera Gamble, Brett Matthews, and Bed Edlund all having 1. As far as writers who introduced new LGBTQ characters or canonized previously existing ones we have again Robbie Thompson in the lead with 7, Dabb with 6 (although 4 were from co-written episodes), Berens with 4, Yockey and Glynn with 3, Brett Matthews, Davy Perez, Nancy Weiner, Eric Kripke, and Nancy Won all with 2. Gamble and Edlund each have 1 and Buckleming sort of have 1 since they introduced apocalypse world Charlie. All of this is quantity not quality, so keep that in mind.

As far as deaths go, Bobo has the most with 3.5. 3 of those are from Despair where the characters were all (possibly) resurrected and the .5 is for Kaia who later turned out to not actually be dead. Yockey has 2 (both from Ouroboros). Edlund, Glynn, Perez, and Gamble all have 1 and Dabb also has .5 for cowriting Wayward Sisters.

The LGBTQ character who appears in the most episodes is very obviously Castiel who appears in 142 total episodes. Chuck is next with 19 and then Charlie with 7. Chuck has the most episodes as a confirmed LGBTQ character with 12 total and Charlie has 7.

Apologies if any of the math on this is wrong or if I left anyone out. Feel free to let me know and I'll correct the documents.

So really I don't know why I did this but basically yeah I don't know what fantasy world those reddit dudes are living in with LGBT people in nearly every episode (unless he's counting Castiel which...win for the gays I guess?). Nothing about this was particularly surprising but it's interesting to see all these things laid out and play around with the categories. Um...hope you enjoyed this i guess. lol

[eldestnightwingsyndrome]

ROTD Analysis

revolution of the daleks was a real mixed bag. overall, it was really fun to watch and i enjoyed, but my media analysis brain is going into overdrive, so here are my Thoughts.

quick disclaimer, these are just my opinions and it’s okay if you disagree! feel free to let me know what you disagree with as long as you do it kindly.

Prison Break

the scene where jack breaks the doctor out of prison was fun, however i feel like it was a huge missed opportunity.

yaz spent ten months looking for the doctor, what if in all her research she found torchwood? she could’ve actually teamed up with jack and gotten the doctor out of prison, she and the rest of the fam. why would this have been a better idea (in my opinion) than jack committing a bunch of crimes and somehow hiding a bunch of alien tech and breaking them out?

it allows the fam to have a real impact on the plot of the episode. the only things they really did this episode were:

bring the daleks to the doctor’s attention, which she could and would have found out on her own eventually

yaz noticed the light changing in osaka, which again, the doctor would have figured out on her own.

and ryan had an Honest conversation with the doctor. kudos to him for getting her to actually talk about her feelings.

i’m so incredibly disappointed at how these characters are being used. they almost have no agency. if they had actively contributed to the prison break, it would have fundamentally changed the course of the episode in a way that didn’t happen in the canon.

three of your main characters barely had an affect on the plot.

Nitpicking About Companion Interactions

another thing, no one asked the doctor anything about stormcage? they didn’t even consider how long she may have been there? or what she could have endured?

i understand that they were upset, they were left for ten months unsure if she was alive. they had a right to be upset! but the doctor was in prison for decades, that’s got to have a negative effect on her psyche.

it just doesn’t seem right to me that none of the fam would ask what happened to her. i’m chalking this one up to bad writing, honestly.

Rose Mention

thank god we got a rose mention

however.

correct me if i’m wrong, but when jack brought her up, there was absolutely no reaction from the doctor? not a word, not a facial expression?

my guy. i wanted an acknowledgment of her existence from 13, is that too much to ask?

i’m so so glad she was mentioned at all, but i feel like it could been better? that’s so nitpicky, i know.

The New Companion

i don’t think we need another companion.

i’m not even going to touch on the fact that he’s a middle-aged white dude, so many people have already made posts about that and they’re great, go read them.

i’m going to talk about yaz and the doctor. not about thasmin at all, but about character development and the progression of their friendship (and possibly relationship, although i personally don’t think it will happen).

yaz is such a great character. she has ambitions, a career, a personality, she’s got family! she has clear motivations and drive. she is capable of carrying a season on her own, being the only companion.

it would give a great chance to explore her character further, she would have more screen time and more interactions with the doctor.

as someone who is ambivalent to thasmin, as in, i’d like it if it happened but i wouldn’t say i ship it, they need to further their relationship.

they need more interactions bro. they make such a good team. if it wasn’t currently 12:14 am, i’d list examples. i can’t wait to go more in depth on all this shit. but you know exactly what i’m talking about, yaz is intelligent and clever and it’s clear that the two get along well.

furthermore, this show really can’t handle multiple companions right now. character development has really suffered throughout seasons 11 and 12 because they’re trying to split screen time between three companions and their storylines, the doctor and her storyline, and the monster of the week.

it’s just too much. if yaz was the sole companion for a little while, it would give the show a chance to explore her, explore the doctor’s feelings about being the timeless child and coping with what happened on gallifrey and in stormcage, and again, give the two a chance to develop a complex relationship (platonic or not).

A Bit Of Positivity

here’s a few things i enjoyed from the episode!! obviously not everything, just off the top of my head.

i love that gwen cooper was mentioned. just the little details, guys.

jack’s interaction with graham? god the little things really make this show good.

i like that hotel guy (i can’t be bothered to learn his name) was literally going to betray the human race for what? capitalism? that was funny and sad, a bit too real.

the new dalek design was really cool. it’ll be good to return to something more conventional, but it was nice to see something new! it was sleek and modern, nice to look at.

this episode, and the previous episode featuring daleks in season 12, has been great at making daleks scary again. daleks are still a force to be reckoned with even outside of their casing! they can use people as their puppets! that’s terrifying!! i love it!!!

i enjoyed the weeping angel cameo and the silence cameo.

i know everyone’s said it before but the greasy hair. disgusting, please take a shower, but w o w. it looks good.

if you actually read this far, i’m in love with you. i owe you my firstborn. please give me your thoughts, tear me shreds, agree with me, idc. i’m hoping to go more in depth on this stuff and make a video essay on it, so i’d definitely appreciate hearing from other people. i hope everything i said in this made sense, i’m so tired and i’m not proofreading, so if it’s disjointed i apologize.

[aspiestvmusings]

ZEP: Max & Zoey -  Thoughts 1

Here’s my take... on some of the storylines/scenes/lines: 

Again.. super long post. SPOILERS up to 1x10, and possibly hints at what is coming. Hence...SPOILER WARNING. 

Analyzing the M/Z storylines from the perspective of “things that fans don’t understand or like about Max’s character behaviour”. And possibly providing a different perspective to look at some of the things/behaviour...

Mentions of Z/S relationship/storylines. 

In the Pilot Max was encouraging Zoey to go after Simon, cause he knew she’s interested in the new guy... but that changed...at about the time she/he/they found out the guy is taken/engaged. That’s the moment when his “best friend mode” kicked in & tried to not let Zoey make her past mistake again with overly complicated, exhausting for everyone & not good relationship choices...

                               ***********************************************

The one & only reason I can’t be Team Simon. 

I cannot ever consider Team Simon for one simple reason - the writers had the character be in a relationship/engaged...when his emotional affair with Zoey started. IF he would have been single, I could talk about choosing sides/teams, but this single fact takes Simon out of the equation. No matter how good looking, cool, hot, or compatible he might be with Zoey. No matter if their relationship grows in the future... Their first moments were cheating (on Jessica), and no matter how “human” and “real”, that is the line for me that shan’t be crossed. And the fact that the relationship ended does not change what happened before - they kissed while he was still engaged. You can’t take that back. IF the writers would have made him single..since start...I could debate which Team I’m on, but the fact he was engaged eliminates him for me. But none of their cute moments or shared grief bond... or hot dances change the simple fact that he cheated on Jessica. 

Sidenote: if we’re talking cast, then I'm both Team Skylar AND Team John C. Those two gents are both great AND they can both sing!

                                ***********************************************

Yes, unless Max knows something we don’t know about Zoey (that she, just like her dad, actually, secretly loves big gestures and moments) his choice for how he professed his love seems to be wrong way to declare his love for this specific lady. Because according to what we know Zoey is not into music (but then again...the use of a flash mob was a plot twist device by the writers... who just decided to use that surprise for Max/Zoey, when it could’ve been any other character... but this was simply done so that the show could mess with Zoey’s powers and give her character “oh, this isn’t in my head, this is real” moment.) But... that’s just a possible bad choice by the character, not anything horrible. And that’s the way he knows how to say it, even if a small, personal, reveal seems more Zoeys style. 

But... are we actually correct in assuming this? After the flashmob she never once mentioned anything about it being “too much of a public declaration for her taste”. She even called it “an amazing gesture”, which tells us that while she might be uncomfortable with “big moments” in general (public speaking...), she is comfortable with them with people she’s closed to (her dad, her best friend...) And we saw her talk about it with Max & with Mo. Her only worry was related to him telling her, in reality (not just in her mind...via heart song) that he has feelings for her. She has not shown any worry regarding it being done via “grand gesture”. So... is it possible that it actually isn’t so “not her” as we assume? 

Just as perhaps Max from 1x09 is not as “passive” and “not interested in promotion” as Max from 1x01? Perhaps time & peer reviews, and everything else...has changed him? And he’s actually interested in climbing the career ladder.,.. as opposed to the Max in the Pilot, who told Zoey that he does not want any of that...

Maybe Zoey is her fathers daughter, and actually (secretly) loves big moments & grand gestures? Because her dad is all about “big moments”. And maybe it’s actually really appropriate for Max to tell Zoey about his feelings this way, in “big moments/grand gesture” style flash mob? To honor her dad...in a way. Cause Mitch loves these kind of moments & Mitch is No 1 in Zoey’s life, so...  maybe we’re all wrong in assuming it was “not Zoey’s style”? 

                      *************************************************

From Max’s POV this is what’s going on with Zoey/his relationship with Zoey: 

She ends their regular movie nights...with no explanation. Something that they’ve done...forever...since they are best friends. (He probably thinks it’s because of her dad’s health and that she’s focused on..that... after her promotion he even asks if her “weidness” is because of “her dad” and/or her now being his boss) 

She starts acting strangely...around him, and general...and she doesn’t talk to him anymore (it’s been implied that they’re BFF and talk about everything... but she hasn’t told him what’s up with her). He wonders if it’s because of her dad’s health and everything related to it (but he doesn’t know if its only because of that, or if there’s something more/else, too) 

He has feelings for her, but he doesn’t tell her (she only finds out cause she can hear his heart songs). Finding out that her BF has deeper feelings for her freaks her out, even though he himself does not pressure her or anything like that..yet. She is the one who assumes their “discussion” at work is presumed as “lovers quarrel” & she is the one who presumes that “is it a date” means he considers a meal together as date...when all he means is “are you free to go” (to the new place which they both wanted to go to..as friends) Up until the flash mob there is zero “pushing” from him. 

He only sings love songs to her when he’s single - during the time he’s dating someone else (Autumn) he stops singing to her, because he’s not a cheater. When he’s with someone, he’s with that someone, and devoted to that person..only. So he stops for a while. 

He sees & hears her say that the thing she had for/with Simon is over (1x06) & that she’s not doing any of that anymore. Since she doesn’t talk about any of it with him, this is all he knows so he assumes she meant it, and she’s done chasing the engaged man. This is also probably the only inside info she has on the whole Z/S situation - what he sees/hears during the “burnt roses” moment. (So... it is not a nice surprise when he learns in 1x08 that after everything her words were not true, cause it’s not all over/done with S...)

Why he doesnt believe her right away when she tells him of her powers: As a rational person he has a hard time believing her claims about superpowers at first. Also... it seems like such a “lie” to change the subject, and simply avoid giving him an honest answer (yes OR no) But after hearing some more facts he starts believing. And by the time she “glitches” he has no doubt that she’s going through all this...

Both Zoey and Max are emotionally challenged. (tbh, just like Max I believed Autumn when she said that all is cool when they broke up during their morning jog. I’m emotionally challenged, too. I honestly did not know that what she said and what she thought/felt were different, so I get why it came as a surprise to him to learn she wasn’t cool about it) The whole Autumn/Max break-up tells us that Max doesn’t get the subtle clues, and needs to hear the words to know the truth. Hence he believes what Zoey tells him... at first. 

He misreads her signals in 1x05 - 1x06 - 1x07 (”I need more Max”, reinstating their movie nights, touching his bicep, commenting she needs more Max in her life, checking him out when he’s shirtless, etc), and based on that confesses his love for her via flashmob. What surprises him is not so much that she doesn’t respond with the same, but that she doesn’t give him an answer...at all. (Mo explained it best to Zoey...later; the boy deserved an answer... even if it’s “I don’t know...yet”. Also... we’ve never heard her say that she didn’t appreciate it because it was a big gesture...so she might not be as uncomfortable with the gesture as we think) Instead she runs, and then she avoids giving him an answer, kinda changing the subject, and telling him about her powers. Instead of telling him the truth right away, cause truth might hurt, but it’s better than avoidance/ignoring. 

This is shown later in the episode, when after Zoey finally gives him her...messy & selfish answer... he’s hurt, but content. She tells him that the reasons why she isn’t ready to go from friends to more is because her focus has to be on her dad for now & because she’s afraid that “they” won’t work out & she’ll lose her best ftiend...for good... and she can’t risk that... at this time. This is not the answer he hoped for, but as Mo predicted...this is the answer he accepts. That can be seen in the elevator scene with Simon. He’s OK with waiting & this not being the right time (cause she needs to focus on her dad at the moment). He also doesn’t say they’re done, he asks what she asked - pressing pause on their traditional friends activities like movie nights. 

During the 1x07 end elevator convo he also learns that the totally engaged man has been “keeping tabs” on Zoey & Z/M. Which concerns him. Cause why is an engaged man looking at other women & paying attention to whom they socialize with (when his focus should only be on his fiancee)? Like Mo, he probably thinks “the guy is a player” after this convo. And again... he, as Zoey’s friend, is not in the wrong, when he thinks he should “protect” her from the morally questionable guy. 

Then in the “very next day basically” he learns that she wasn’t completely honest with him. And since she promised 100% honesty to him, he’s hurt that she as his friend isn’t being honest. She sings him a love song (it is possible that she wasn’t aware of her deep feelings for him...but after this she definitely is...100%)...but then tries to take back the honesty and claim that the truth she spoke is not the truth. But what really hurts him is how her “honesty” from their last convo turns out to be a lie (and we know it is, because we’ve seen Zoey tell her mom & Mo about her real feelings, not the cleaned up version she told Max at the end of 1x07) - and he voices why he’s upset. It’s not because she doesn’t return his feelings, it’s because she wasn’t honest with her best friend. Because through her heart songs he knows for a fact that she has feelings for him - that she loves him, too. So he’s not upset that she doesn’t love him back. He even says it during their bathroom convo - the best reason to be “mad” at her is that she told him she loves him/she’s his, when she didnt mean to tell him this (the truth). Meaning: she thinks it’s “unfair” he’s upset that “she sang him a heart song, when she didn’t mean to”... or in other words: she thinks it’s fair to keep the truth a secret from him...and this rigth after she promised 100% honesty to him... and he doesn’t agree with the secret-keeping. 

We saw Max’s feelings progression since Pilot: in 1x01 he THINKS he’s in love with her, in 1x02 he’s a SUCKER for her & by 1x07 he fully admits he LOVES her. With Zoey the timeline is..kinda... starting in 1x06... The “500 miles” moment is her “I think I love you” moment & her heart song to him in 1x08 is basically her “I love you” moment. 

She claims she isn’t ready for a relationship because she needs to focus on her dad right now, when in reality she really is torn between two men - and she wants Max to be her emotional support and shoulder to lean on (knowing he loves her, and knowing that he knows that she knows he loves her), while she herself is pursuing another man, Simon. An engaged man she’s obsessed with cause she “finds his body hot & has a grief bond with”. (in reality: her role has mostly been being his grief therapist - and she’s not really told him about her dad that much...so it’s pretty much one-sided anyway) But just as she didn’t want to be the other woman, he doesn’t want to be the other man/third wheel... and that’s understandable. 

Then when Max gets the job offer he goes to his best friend for support. And while I personally read the scene as him saying “no, that was not the right answer, but it gave me mine (I’m taking the job)” being a response to her asking “was this the right answer?” because this meant she wasn’t still being honest with him, and instead of giving her her true answer she gave him the answer she thought he wanted to hear... I am willing to accept that what the writers meant was that he wanted her to give a more personal answer and/or ask him to stay because he is a valuable member of the team. 

Her reply was as his boss, and co-worker/friend. She only focused on their work relationship, not their personal friendship. She’ll miss sitting across from him... not that she’ll miss him outside work (and  yes...it’s only two floors up, and working in different departments does not mean they can’t hang out oustide work...) but still her answer did not include her role as best friend/possible future romantic partner....even when he asked her to specify the “I’m Your’s Zoey’s” answer - she only focused on the work related part when replying...to that.  This gave him the clarity needed - she’s not into him, so he did the right thing & put space between them. Since she didn’t include the “I’m Yours Zoey” that meant to him that she’d choosen Simon...and  just as it’s very human to grieve and cheat...it's also very human to feel hurt/heartbroken. And he should not have to subject himself to seeing her with someone else (when he knows she has feelings for both) - making the same mistakes over again she’s made before with her relationships. So his choice was the right one...for both. They need time apart, time to grow as individuals, time to reflect... 

Yes his speech in 1x10 was directed mostly to her, but he was adressing the whole 4th floor/Team, really. Cause no-one stood up to give him a “good luck” hug when he came to collect his things. And his best friend didn’t even have any encouraging words to him...on the day he moved to the 6th floor.... and even admitted she didn’t get to get him a “good luck gift” (which he could just assume is because she’s busy with her dad, but we know that while she had 4 days to buy that pen/mouse...and didn’t, she managed to get a plant as housewarming gift for the other man in like 4 hours. And we also know that she voiced no concerns about losing her best friend and a good team member at work...while talking to Mo... yet she had lots of things to say about “the man who just broke up, and whom I said I would not chase anymore, but now that he’s been single for 4 seconds, we can make out and it’s not cheating this time anymore”... so she’s showing no signs of caring about his best friends life changes, while caring a lot about the other mans life changes) 

So of course he feels underappreciated on the 4th floor. The peer reviews, the boss, the team manager, the job offer... it all plays a part in his decision. And the D*rk Point boss knows exactly what to say...to make him feel appreciated...something he didn’t feel he got on the 6th floor... but he didn’t realize until he heard Ava point out his good work..with the maze, with the chirp pitch...and though he may not realize that Ava, too, has her own agenda, hearing that he is appreciated...as a worker & as a human...made him feel good  (we saw how important positive feedback is for everyone during the peer reviews plot), and he realized he didn’t get any of that, really, on the 4th floor. And once again... while he may have secretly wanted to hear her say “stay”, what he actually really wanted/needed was for her to encourage him, and show genuine happiness for him, and for her to be completely honest with him. And he didn’t feel like that’s something she could be right now. To put it in her own terms: “everyone is so nice & polite, and no one is giving me the raw & honest feedback”...cause her reply to him when asked about the job offer was “polished” & “nice”, not “honest & raw”. (and I think we all agree that her telling him to take it  & him taking it was the right move...for all... cause they both need space & to grow individually)

In the Pilot we learn that Max thinks he’s not management material & he’s not looking for career opportunity. So to Zoey's knowledge this is not in character for him? So whether or not he’s changed during the time between then & now, to Max’s knowledge she knows that he likes being just a coder. So for her to not know him...and not remember that he’s told her this, could be disappointing. So her reply: That’s a great career opportunity MIGHT tell him that she doesn’t know him and what he wants. (this is the flashmob argument: we, fans, think that a flashmob is “not Zoeys style” & we, fans, think that promotion is “not Max’s style”. We might be wrong, cause we don’t know everything about the characters + they can change...over time...)

Another thing she says to him when he asks advice regarding the job offer is “I would never stop you from going after what you want”. When they both know that what he really wants is her - he’s made it clear. And yet... here she is saying she’d not stop him, when she is “stopping him” from doing just that. And at the same time...as pointed out in the last part... is a promotion what Max really wants? Cause it is not the case for “1x01 Max”...and we & Zoey haven’t been made aware that he’s changed his mind. So... does his best friend not know him? (or does she known him better...and know he’s changed his POV on promotions)

Max & Zoey have been best friends & colleagues...for 5 years...since the first day on the job. From Max’s POV...something changed..suddenly...a few months ago. For a while he didn’t know why and what, but now he knows why.  And just like it took time for Zoey to adjust to her “power”, same applies to Max (adjusting to her powers). 

From Max’s POV...his best friend is dishonest with him, she avoids him, she has changed, she comes to him when she needs him... but she herself doesn’t offer anything back (yes, he is aware she’s grieving, and he understands it, but his best friend is not letting her friends help her during the time she needs to lean on family/friends). We have rarely seen her talk to him about anything else than office gossip...or her powers related stuff...recently. And it’s heavily implied they used to talk...all the time... about everything. His best friend also set him up with another woman...just to avoid him after she learned that he has feelings for her. His best friend claims her focus has to be her dad, and she can’t do more than friendship at this time, but at the same time she continues pursing another man. And this after she promised to be 100% honest with him. And she betrayes that trust the “very next day”. So he has every right to be upset, and hurt. 

Zoey has every right to be upset about the fact that she thinks Max is “pushing her to have feelings for him” (when they both know... for a fact..after her heart song that she does have feelings for him), but in this case Max has every right to be upset about the fact that he thinks “she is avoiding him”. She has the right to grieve, so does he. If she has the right to be upset that Simon doesn’t return her feelings... then Max has the right to be upset that she doesn’t return his feelings. The same rules have to apply to all, not just main character. And if you look at the storylines closely, you’ll see the parallels... the things that Zoey is upset about (fans are upset about) regarding Simon’s behaviour (when pursuing him) are the same exact things that Max is upset about regarding Zoey (his pursuit of her). The same way that some fans point out Max is “obsessed with Zoey” there’s a parallel story with Zoey is “obsessed with Simon”. All Max wanted from Zoey was what Zoey wanted from Simon - clarity. For her/him to have clarity. And just as she felt the other man didn’t have it, he felt that she didn’t have it. 

Because we, the audience, know that Zoey (thinks she has) has feelings for both men - her behaviour in past episodes (especially 1x06 - 1x07) and her heart song confirm that she has feelings for Max, and because he knows her secret, he knows that that’s a fact. So he has every right to be upset that she  “doesn’t like him back/doesn’t want to be with him”, when he knows that she does love him back, while claiming the opposite. And she won’t talk to him about it... 

From his POV it is as follows: they both have admitted they love each other. She claims she needs time to deal with her grief and can’t risk their friendship. She tells him she loves him...and the very next minute goes to another mans arms - that’s the part that upsets him. He’s not upset that she’s not returning his feelings/not wanting to date him, nope. He’s “upset” because he, as her best friend who knows her & her past relationships, knows that her thing with the engaged man will not end well for her.  And yes, he is not wrong in saying that in a case when she has feelings for two men it’s a better option to choose the best friend, who has always been there for her (she’s said this herself) than the totally engaged (until just recently) & morally questionable, emotionally unavailable grieving hot guy.                       

While Max choices have been just “mistakes” (perhaps not the best idea to confess your feelings via flash mob to a girl who only listens to podcasts?), then Simon’s choices have been actual “bad decisions” - cheating. And though both Simons & Zoey’s bad choices have been rooted in their grief/depression, they cannot “excuse” it with being a mess due to grief. Instead of continuing the downward spiral they should own their mistakes, acknowledge them as not good choices. It’s one thing to use the wrong gesture to confess your love to somone, and completely another thing to cheat on your fiancee (and blame it on being a mess cause of grief). Those two things should not be comparable. 

I can’t believe how some people see Max response to her “no one understand why you got the promotion” (translation: you didn’t deserve it) as harsh. Like her cruel words were “justified” because she’s grieving..or just because...even though she was not right to say them, but his behaviour has been “unacceptable”. Yes, his comments to Zoey are not the friendliest (when he’s telling why he chooses 6th floor over 4th... after the “The Boy is Mine” sing-off, but they are nothing compared to Zoey’s “you don’t deserve this promotion & you are selfish for not being there for me whenever I need something from you”. 

We can all see & understand that each character has flaws & makes mistakes & says some things they shouldn’t. But some of these things are “worse” than the others. And his reply to her rude-fuled-by-her-anger-phase-of-grieving comment to him was tame. He was actually quite calm & cool during his response to her (you’re calling me selfish?). And he directed the coded message at Zoey on the 6th floor directly at her because he knows she’s emotionally challenged, so she needed to undrerstand that it was directed at her, too...so she’d start understanding that she hurt him with her words/behaviour too. He wanted her to get that message, cause he had seen that until now she had no idea how her actions/inactions affect him. 

He may seem like being “upset” with her... but it’s also understandable, because she kinda broke his heart, and just as she’s allowed to not return his feelings, he’s allowed to feel sad that she doesn’t. To put it in “fairytale terms”. But he’s in no way pressuring her to return his feelings & start a relationship now. All he wants/needs from her is honesty & clarity. 

And mostly... when will Zoey finally give Simon the advice he needs - go see a professional therapist! What the man needs is professional help not a mind-reader, who is a mess herself. And is Zoey doesn’t stop keeping it all in and won’t talk to her family/friends about her grief, then she, too, will soon need professional help... (therapist). 

                        ******************************************************

Through all of this Max’s there for her:  he supports her when she’s interested in the new guy..(until he finds out the man is taken); he supports her to go after the promotion; he brings her dad... his “closest thing to a dad he’s had” soft food...that he can eat, he goes to support her when she gets a call about her dad’s health & he finds a way to get her to her dad..fast; he saves her “glitch song” and turns it into a pitch for the CEO; he goes to check on her, & gives her her mom’s message..even when he’s hurt by her (and on top of that he gives her good friend advice about her dad). And she does acknowledge this..on several occasions. So...this “social distancing” (physical distance between them during work & off work) is needed to make her/them start to see things from different perspective, and realize some truths... that only distance/change could give them. 

There is a real inconsistancy between what she really feels & thinks...and  what she says/acknowledges she feels & thinks. 

ETA: And it all won’t start moving forward & she won’t start character development until she’ll truly embrace her powers. Cause she still seems to view them as “burden” instead of “helpful tool”. Sure... she has started to realize the good she can do with having this ability (in general Howie/Abigail situation was the first time she really used her ability to really improve the situation & first time she really emphatized), but until she fully embraces it all, she’ll remain “lost”. The turning point will be actually losing her dad...for real. 

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[jeansmullet]

"Plot holes" and storylines I feel we need to discuss before chapter 139

CW- swearing/cussing, Spoilers for manga and anime!!!!!

Today I made a post on twitter that got some attention. The attention that it raised (inspired by my moot Aspen <3) got me thinking on the topic. Before I begin this I just want to make it clear that I am a mainly anime watcher and I know some of the parts left out of the show in the manga. Many of my moots are manga readers and have educated me on AOT content. Please feel free to correct me on anything stated here!

While re-watching AOT S3 I came across the scene where Levi stabs Reiner, and later on Reiner is gravely injured during many explosions. The only reason he survived these events is due to his sudden ability to shift his consciousness to other parts of his body in order to survive wounds dealt to vital parts. As we see in the episode he shifts his consciousness to his nervous system allowing for him to rapidly heal and survive the final fight within the walls. I think we also see this ability within S4 (even though it's not blatantly told) when he protects Falco from Eren's transformation.

The more research I did, I realized this ability has never been mentioned before. None of the other titans have had the ability and Reiner has never done it before. I know that there is a lot Isayama still has planned and I know that there is a lot he has left unexplained for a reason, but this storyline feels rushed or sloppy.

To be real honest with you guys, it felt like it was Isayama's way of keeping Reiner's character alive longer even though he had no reason to kill him off. There's always the chance that Isayama introduced this ability to us now in order to create a major plot line later, but as the final chapter is coming up I highly doubt this is a possibility.

Mainly I'm making this post to complain about the plot holes in all the warriors stories. We've been given so little on Marley or the warriors and it's left so much confusion within the recent episodes and chapters. I understand if when AOT is over Isayama wants to drop the series all together, but I feel he should close many of these "plot holes". One of the ways I hope he does this is by providing us with an OVA, or maybe a spinoff series about our warrior friends!

Reiner's sudden ability is just tip of the ice burg. There's also Annie's female titan ability to scream and control titans around her. The only titans that should have that ability (if I remember correctly) is Zeke due to his royal blood and the founding titan (Ymir's). It also seems like Annie's female titan has the ability to mimic or copy the other 9 titan's abilities. I say this as we've seen her do the scream, harden, and move as swiftly/quickly as the jaw titan. (This may be a reach of mine lol)

I know that Annie mentions in an OVA that Marley did experimentations on the kids and on their titan abilities. I think that would be a perfect way to introduce these special abilities. Within S3 we see Eren bite down on the "armor" vial and gain the hardening ability for his titan. I hypothesize that Marley found a way to give titan shifters other titan abilities with injections of manipulated spinal fluid. Could this come from them taking spinal fluid from other titans and mixing them with other titan spinal fluid? Honestly, I think that should be the path Isayama goes on with this story!

In all honesty I just want a background on the warriors. As an anime only, I was so confused when s4 opened with random little kids in the middle of a WW2 looking battle field. I thought I had tuned into the wrong show. I feel that there's so many holes within AOT and if Isayama ends the show without filling them, it's a cheap ending. The show will of course still be great, but there will just be so many questions left unanswered. I suppose however, that has been a major point in the show since the s1 plotline of the basement. Maybe that was Isayama's intentions this entire time.

(Inspired by a discussion between me and moot Aspen- aspenluvsaot on twt)

I do not own Attack On Titan or the manga drawing within this essay

All credits for AOT go towards Isayama and his production teams

[shasta-reese]

This might make some people mad but I’m gonna say it

Lena being the only one to say sorry for what she’s done so far is a blatant double standard of how the characters actions have affected the events that have occurred thus far. Because now that Lena has realized the damage she has unintentionally caused in her hurt, she is actively trying to fix it unlike Kara. I keep seeing that Kara shouldn’t have to apologize because she already has BUT that was for different reasons, those apologies were for lying to Lena for 3 years and hurting her by lying (she didn’t even mention how fucked up it was for her to be two completely different people with Lena; being her best friend as Kara Danvers but being an asshole to Lena as Supergirl). Yes, Kara apologized, I’m not saying she didn’t, she clearly did but that’s all she did. From what I’ve seen and remember (might be wrong but this is my recollection of events), Kara has not done anything beyond saying sorry and that doesn’t fix anything. All Kara did was say sorry and expected that that meant everything was good, even if Lena didn’t manipulate Kara into indirectly helping with Non Nocere in 5A, Kara was extremely naive in believing that just because Lena “forgave” her at the Pulitzer ceremony that Lena was not still hurting immensely from her reveal.

People could argue that Kara doing all the things for Lena while Lena was using her was Kara trying to fix what she had done but (in my opinion) even if Lena didn’t have ulterior motives in making Kara do certain things like get Lex’s journals. Kara was completely clouded by guilt and didn’t give her actions second thought because they showed how much Lena was hurting while even trying to read Lex’s journals in the prison episode last season. So why would Kara think for a second that Lex’s journals could have helped Lena when they literally told us that reading those journals were torture for Lena? I might be upset for no reason over this because Supergirl is known for it’s obvious plot holes but this is canon and I will interpret it as such. 

But other than that after Kara knew the depth of Lena’s hurt she has not done anything to prove to Lena that she was trying to mend things between them after Crisis. All she did was go to Lena’s office and tell her to be careful and that was it. Nothing that was shown to us indicated any form of mending bridges between them at all until that scene where Lena gave her condolences for Jeremiah but that was immediately ruined in the fortress scene. Have not seen a single moment of “fighting for Lena’s soul” from literally anyone, if anything all I’ve seen is Lena fighting for herself and trying to break free of Lex’s abuse and manipulations. 

And that kinda makes me more mad of how they handled Lena finally seeing what she has unintentionally caused. Lena is somehow shown as the only person in the wrong, and while she is tearfully explaining herself and apologizing for what she has caused, Kara is standing there unemotional, showing no empathy for what Lena has gone through, and not apologizing for how she has treated Lena thus far. It just makes me feel so upset on Lena’s behalf because she is basically apologizing for being hurt and being abused by her family once again, and that just makes me feel awful that Lena is going through all this alone. Because as far as Lena knows, every single person she was acquainted with in the previous seasons have turned their back on her and she is truly alone right now. In Lena’s mind she has become a villain, Kara has lost all faith in her, her “friends” have abandoned her (as if they were ever there for her to begin with), her family has used her for their own gain (again). She has got to be in the worst frame of mind in her entire existence and yet she’s not taking care of herself but trying to salvage what she can by working with people who clearly don’t trust her at all, in order to fix the wrongs that she has done. 

I hate that they dragged this stupid rift between Kara and Lena for so long. It was completely unnecessary to have it only start healing at the end of the season. The healing should have began right after Crisis, even if Supergirl went according to the original plan instead of piecing together a finale with clips they already had, it still would have been too rushed to have any sort of proper reconciliation between any of the characters, it’s just too rushed to feel genuine. Ultimately, I just feel sad because all of the people who watch Supergirl can see the enormous amount of potential that this show has in it’s story telling and we all keep watching in the hopes that it reaches that potential. But we are getting tired of watching storylines getting recycled (Lena being used like in S2 with Rhea, Lex is behind everything like S4), character development being torn down, and the lack of screen time/plots for characters that are supposed to be part of the main cast. 

I’m just tired of the show not realizing how much potential it has and seeing it wasted on pointless storylines rather than having actual meaningful plots that it used to have. There is so much material that the producers can use, Kara herself has so much to her character that has barely been touched on and yet we barely see any of it and all we see is her being a hero with almost nothing besides that. So far she barely has a storyline of her own the season other than wanting to stop Leviathan but they barely have anything that moves that plot and yet it’s somehow already coming to an end? This show has a cast of characters that have amazing complex characteristics but they aren’t doing anything to showcase that instead their characters are altered to fit the convenience of the plot. 

I’ve gone on long enough. All that I’ve said is just my opinion, I might have missed details so feel free to correct me if I’ve said anything that is wrong. I don’t wanna argue, I just want to have civil discussions with anyone who might have a comment on what I’ve said in this. That’s all I have to say.

Goodbye, for now

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #77: The Puppet Who Wanted to be a Real Girl. Is Penny Polendina really back?

jade-rosepine asked “ While I didn't mind penny and all, I can't help asking; what was the point of bringing her back? I mean yeah wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Only thing I could think of was to make ruby be forced to make a difficult choice - kill a friend to keep her from being used by the villians (she is still a robot and could, theoretically, be hacked by a way more advanced virus. Basically the cyber-version of brainwashing or possession!) OR let her live and be a slave to the baddies?”

Squiggles Answers: 

@jade-rosepine​ Whelp I was going to save this bit for my musing on the first episode of RWBY V7, but since you brought it up, I might as well voice my thoughts here. I’m going to be honest with you, fam. This squiggle meister has mixed feelings about Penny’s return.

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Heart of Machine

In the past, I was a big fan of the idea of Penny being rebuilt and returning for the Atlas Arc. However back then, I liked it under the pretence that she wouldn’t exactly be the same Penny Polendina that we all met back in V1. I figured she’d be an entirely different character and the justification for her being this way was so that the plot could’ve allowed for Ruby Rose to finally have some semblance of closure since it’s been shown throughout previous seasons how much Penny’s death has affected her emotionally.

As a matter of fact, as evidenced by her ‘Indomitable’ moment in V6, Penny’s death (along with Pyrhha’s and the events of the Fall of Beacon) are still a visible mental block to Ruby being able to fully utilize her Silver Eyes. Since Ruby was shown to still have much growing with mastering her unique power, I was hoping that part of her arc for this season would be coming to terms over her loss over Penny as I was certain being within her old friend’s home kingdom was bound to bring back memories of their time together.

Now I’m not so sure whether or not closure with Penny will still be in the cards for Ruby. It’s not he fact that Penny returned that troubles me. It’s the fact that she returned and is presumably supposed to still be her old self but fixed now. I’m sorry but I’m just not actively buying that at all. I mean, like you, I get that this feat wasn’t entirely impossible to do given that Penny was a robot and technology can be easily repaired; especially in a kingdom as technologically advanced as Atlas and especially by the hands of Pietro Polendina---the man who was literally described as the Greatest Mind in the kingdom. So yeah, Penny returning--- totally could have seen that coming. But that don’t mean I’m not heavily suspicious about it knowing these writers.  I still feel like there’s something’s awfully fishy about this whole plot twist.

This brings me to my hunch about Penny 2.0. I don’t believe that that’s Penny. I mean, she is her. She looks like her (albeit with a more updated design that is reminding me a lot of Bach Do’s design of her from her RWBY 3.0 art series). Talks like her and of course, acts like her. But I feel like this version of Penny is merely a shadow of the soul she once was. I still feel like the old Penny that Ruby befriended perished at the Fall of Beacon and what we’re seeing now before us is just a copy mimicking the behaviour of its original predecessor.

When Penny 2.0 first appeared, after getting over my initial shock and excitement of seeing the character again, I couldn’t help but shake this icky feeling in my gut that something was off about the new Penny. I know the series is trying to get me to think that Penny is back here but…I don’t know. I’m not entirely buying it. I feel like something is awry about this and not even her bright and shining smile in the opening is enough to quell my lingering suspicion. I can’t help but feel like something is going to happen to Penny…again.

Perhaps your theory will be correct here Jade. Perhaps it will be a case where Arthur Watts creates and implants his strongest computer virus yet into Atlas’ system which not only corrupts all the Atlesian Battle Droids in Atlas but all technology within the whole kingdom; Mantle included. This is inclusive of Penny 2.0 and possibly even Pietro Polendina’s mechanical wheelchair which goes haywire and knocks the poor old soul man off of his seat leading to Maria Calavera having to defend him and help him to safety.

Perhaps it will come down to Ruby having to fight an infected Virus Penny 2.0. However I don’t think Ruby will be forced to kill Penny. I think a moment like this will boil down to what’s stronger---hardware and programming or the soul.

It was stated back in V2 that Penny is the first (and possibly only one) of her kind. The first artificial lifeform to produce an aura. As we know, aura is described as the manifestation of one’s soul. Penny is supposed to be a soul within the body of a machine. While her body may be synthetic, at her core, she is supposedly human or the closest thing to it.

And since the V7 opening hinted at love being a major theme for this volume, it makes me wonder if we’re going to get a potential moment where a mind-controlled Virus Penny tries to harm Ruby but in the end, it’s the strength of the profound friendship shared between both girls that ultimately allows for Penny to combat the virus corrupting her machine software with the love she feels in her soul for her dear friend. Y’know love conquers all.

I wouldn’t even be too surprised if it’s a case where Penny ends up sacrificing herself to put a stop to Watts’ tyranny. Like Penny uses her core to cause a chain reaction that obliterates Watts’ powerful virus.

Dr. Polendina mentioned in the first episode that the only reason he was able to fix Penny in the first place is because Atlas was able to salvage her core from Amity Arena. Penny’s core is obviously an important part to her. I’m assuming it’s the part of her that contains the soul that’s keeps her alive. So no matter how many times Penny’s body is destroyed, so long as her core is still intact, she can be brought back. Why mention that little detail at all if it wasn’t going to be relevant later, ey?

What if … Penny’s core does eventually get destroyed. If that gets obliterated, then Penny---or at least the version of her that Ruby knew and loved--- will be gone for good this time.

I feel like the V7 finale could set up for a Terminator II type of conclusion where the machine our protagonist has grown to know and love over the course of their story is forced to sacrifice itself for the greater good of saving our hero from a dark fate. I feel like should your headcanon be made reality in the canon, we’re likely to see Penny sacrifice herself on the grounds that this time, there’s no coming back.

I can imagine Penny’s core being used as the key to stopping Watts reign over Atlas and this time, Ruby is allowed to do what she couldn’t do back in Vale. Not only would she get to save Penny but she would also get to officially say goodbye to her friend and tell her how much she loved her before tearfully watching her give herself up for the purpose she was built to do---save the world.

That’s how I’m more seeing things going down for Ruby and this newly rebuilt of Penny for their shared storylines this season. As per usual, these are only my headcanons here and I can very well be very much wrong in my prediction. But nevertheless, for now, I’m leaving this thought and theory on the table.

Then again, I’ve also gotten ahead of myself here.

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More Machine Than Man

Now that I’ve discussed how I figured Ruby and Penny’s story may conclude for V7, allow to me to voice my views on the build up to it.

As I’ve said, I feel very off about Penny being back. While I’m relishing in seeing her again, I also can’t feel a sense of this is too good to be true; y’know what I mean?

I feel like this is all a set-up. Like right now, both the audience and our main gaggle of heroes are left to believe that Penny had returned and she’s all good as new---almost like she never died at all, right?

But I feel like there’s a catch to that. I feel like at some point, in a later chapter of V7, Ruby is going to have her chance to spend some quality time catching up with Penny. At first, things seem pretty normal between them. They’re both laughing. Swapping stories…having a grand ole time with their heart to heart girl talk…only for Ruby to notice something quite off about Penny.

Like I have this scene imagined in my head. A scenario in which Ruby is supposed to head back down to Mantle to hang out with Penny P who’s finally have some free time to catch up with her old friend and desires to take Ruby on an official fun tour of Mantle---the nicer parts that is.

As a matter of fact, let’s say Penny invites the whole squad---JNPR_RWBY down for a night of fun and dancing down in Mantle with her and father. Pietro did mention in the first episode that he’s been working on shows that dance. Given his enthusiasm, dancing must’ve been one of Pietro’s favourite pastimes prior to losing function in his legs. So maybe, at some point, since the kids have all been working hard with their huntsmen duties and training, Pietro decides to treat them all to a nice of entertainment.

 Imagine if …Pietro and Penny take the group to an old fashioned Mantlese Carnival which is basically RWBY’s version of Mardi Gras with a big parade of bands with nonstop musical entertainment.

I was kind of hoping that our heroes would have reunited with Team FNKI while they’re in Atlas. But it doesn’t seem like they’ll be present at all for this season. Unless, it’s a case where our heroes run into them while out with the Polendinas.

Resuming my Mantlese Carnival idea, let’s say after the group finished watching the parade, the Polendinas lead them to an old-fashioned snazzy little joint whose taste in jazz music is as sweet as its food.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of jazz music and the blues by Pietro Polendina’s design and the way he talked. His sense of fashion is giving me mega New Orleans type of vibes. Like he walked straight out of the set for the Princess and the Frog.

Anyways, like I said, our heroes are treated to a night of music and dancing by the Polendinas but while out and about in Mantle, they also happen to run into none other than Neon Katt and Flynt Cole.

Like imagine the group enjoying a nice performance by a local jazz band in Mantle only to find out that one of the musicians is Flynt.

Neon is also there to either show Flynt support (as my headcanon is that the two are dating) or perhaps she’s part of the performance with him as a singer as she and Flynt deliver a sort of Jazz/Blues rendition of Neon’s classic theme. Why not, ey?

After briefly exchanging pleasantries and catching up with their ole pals from Vale, Flynt and Neon invite everyone to an underground Mantlese rave. So unfortunately for Pietro and Maria (who was his date/company for the night), the younglings end up ditching the old folk for a night of partying. Not that they minded. Even Penny was allowed to join the group at the rave.

So as promised since V2, Neon and Flynt take JNR_RWBY plus Oscar and Penny out partying. As a side note, I’m not sure if Oscar would even be allowed to set foot inside a club given his age as a minor. Like I can just imagine Oscar, innocent as ever like the country munchkin that he is, walking up to the club bouncer only to be immediately barred from entering for being both underage and looking the part. Like would you believe Oscar is actually his age given his short stature and baby face?  

As a matter of fact, the only way I can see Oscar being allowed inside of a rave is if a) he faked his age by having one of Flynt and Neon’s friends hack into Atlas’ s system and alter his birth date by two years (since I’m imagining Atlas using electronic ID scans that instantly verifies a person’s personal records by just scanning them on the spot) or b) Flynt and Neon pulls some strings to have Oscar allowed in as they’re known regulars of the club. Why not?

So the group are out having a grand ole time, and while enjoying themselves Ruby and Penny sort of skedaddle for a bit up to a private place where they can just talk to one another. Since y’know…it’s been so long since they shared a chat since one of them was presumed to be dead and all. Anyways, it’s during their talk that Ruby noticed something peculiar about Penny’s behaviour.

She keeps recalling memories of times she and Ruby shared in excruciating detail. But that’s not the part that threw Ruby off. No matter how many times the Silver Eyed huntress attempted to deviate the conversation and get Penny to talk her more about how she’s been doing since what happened at the Vytal Festival, Penny kept reverting back to recanting the same stories.

The hunch I had in mind here is: What if…Penny 2.0 is actually a copy of original Penny. Rather than being a soul mimicking human nature from within a mechanical body, it’s more a machine operating purely from memories that were transferred to it from its old former self.

When we first met Penny, while the implications of her being an humanoid were clear as day from the instant she first bumped into RWBY (I mean I certainly called that she was a robot from day one), you could also still tell that there was something remotely human in nature about Penny. I got that sense the first time Penny revealed to Ruby that she wasn't a real girl. You heard the strong tinge of genuine sadness in her voice as she said it which was what made her friendship with Ruby all the more pure. Their bond was wholesome and important to each other inspire of only knowing one another for a short space of time.

And when Penny died in V3, you didn't feel as if it was a machine being destroyed. You actively felt like a character---a real person died. We, as the audience, got to feel the same sense of sadness that Ruby Rose felt watching her dear friend die before her very eyes after failing to save her in time.

Ruby failed to protect Penny (and eventually Pyrhha too) which was what made her answer to Maria’s question in V6 all the more meaningful.

She wishes to master control of her Silver Eyes, not just for the sake of being able to vanquish the Grimm but for the sake of protecting the people who matter most to her---her friends and family. The people who love her as much as she loves them.

This also kind of presents another reason why I’m conflicted on Penny’s return. Penny being back all fixed and good as new as if the Fall of Beacon didn’t happen kind of puts a bit of a damper on Ruby’s trauma as a result of what happened. It’s one of those things that made me question why show Ruby suffering from flashbacks of her friends’ deaths just to have said friend return good as new.

As we saw during her ‘Indomitable’ moment in V6, thinking about Penny and her death caused Ruby to lose focus. Yes Ruby managed to summon her light to petrify the Leviathan. But not before using Jinn to buy her some time so she can concentrate and let’s also not forget that Ruby’s power didn’t work.

While she succeeded in petrifying the Leviathan, she failed to kill it. This to me was a clear indicator that Ruby hasn’t full mastered her unique power and still has much to grow. A detail that I was relieved the CRWBY kept since I never felt like Ruby’s indomitable moment was rightfully earned so it almost felt like a waste of a good moment, in my opinion

I’m probably in the minority here when I say this but I actually disliked Ruby’s Indomitable scene from V6. As I said, it wasn’t properly earned and that took me out of the whole moment.

Instead of watching Ruby go through an arc of learning to fully master control of her newfound abilities, struggling at first but also learning more about herself and her heritage in the process building up to this grandiose moment where she finally perfects her power.

Instead we spent two whole seasons with our little red rose being written to be rather neglectful of her eyes, never once further questioning its mysterious origins; not even when in the face of the very person who told the last person who first told Ruby about her eyes.

Ruby learnt about the Silver Eyes from Qrow during the finale of V3. Qrow, on the other hand, said he learnt about the Silver Eyed Warriors from Ozpin. Ruby had her chance to ask Oz for more on the Silver Eyes at any point during V5 or even V6. Instead the Writers have her question everything but her Silver Eyes…despite showing her using it again later in the season during the Battle of Haven.

It is such a darn shame that Maria Calavera was only brought in for V6. I honestly feel like her character and role as Silver Eyed mentor to Ruby should’ve been better utilized as early as V4. 

Instead I was left feeling that Maria’s presence in Ruby’s development was made irrelevant especially by the end of V6 when Ruby had her big brain idea to use her Silver Eyes on the Leviathan…despite having zero prior training. I don’t think that’s how progress is supposed to work? 

And let’s not forget the fact that Ruby has only known Maria for only four days since the entirety of V6 (and the start of V7) only took place over the course of four days in RWBY’s timeline.

So yeah, Ruby’s Mastery of her Silver Eyes has much more groundwork to do and I have a feeling the Writers brought Penny back to aid with that

Did they necessarily have to though? No not really. As a matter of fact, Penny 2.0 unfortunately falls into the ball park of how the Writers brought back Neopolitan in V6 for me. While it’s nice to see Penny again, I didn’t honestly need her back especially since her death was framed in such a symbolic way to the plot in terms of how it affected Ruby’s character these past few seasons. Now I’m left questioning what the whole point of all of that was.

Listen, I’m not trying to imply that bringing Penny back was a terrible idea on the Writers’ part. I’m more saying, I don’t 100% buy into it. Not exactly.

I honestly feel there is going to be a catch with this. The Writers can’t have Penny’s death still affecting Ruby only to just magically have that trauma and mental block magically disappear now that she’s back in the picture. They’re not gonna do that, right? 

They’re not gonna undo that big detail established in previous seasons, right?  I mean…it’s not like they’ve done things like this before, right?

Nuh uh. Not buying it. Hence my theory on Ruby having a moment with Penny 2.0 only to realize that she’s not exactly all good as new as she was proclaimed to be.

Either that or it’s a case where even though Penny is back, Ruby herself can’t seem to look past the past.

She can’t seem to shake the haunting fact that she once saw her friend die before her very eyes because she failed to help her. Like I’d figure that that memory would still remain as a nightmarish lingering thought in Ruby’s psyche. Right?

Like imagine this scene. A scenario where Ruby and Penny are out exploring Mantle together, catching up only for Penny to be called back to the line of duty when another alert of Grimm attacking the city blares it ugly head. As Penny flies off to do her thing, Ruby follows her below on foot determined to help her out. When Ruby finds Penny, she arrives just in time to see her down a couple of Saybers from attacking a couple of fleeing civilians.

Ruby calls out to Penny. Penny, in turn, spins around to wave to Ruby. But while Penny is distracted greeting her friend, she is neglectful of one stray Sayber that suddenly comes in from behind and slashes Penny straight through the chest.

Ruby looks on in complete horror as Penny 2.0 is once again cut down in front of her; the nightmares of her decapitation at the Vytal Festival resurfacing. And for a moment, Ruby freezes on the spot. She doesn’t even react as the same Sayber charges at her.

But before the Sayber could get to Ruby, it’s killed before it could lay a bloody talon on her. As Ruby looks up  slowly from her daze at her saviour , she sees that it was Penny. In spite of her damage, Penny was still functioning enough to protect Ruby.

Let’s say, for the sake of the scene, the rest of the heroes---JNR_WBY plus Oscar were down in Mantle too and overheard all the commotion from the emergency alarms; all seven huntsmen and huntresses arriving at the scene to aid with the rescue. 

Let’s say the others had seen what happened to Penny and immediately came to her side to quickly gather up her severed parts to take her immediately to Dr. Polendina so he could repair his daughter. 

As the others handled Penny, let’s say…Oscar approaches Ruby as he noticed the disturbed expression on her face. Oscar urges Ruby on the matter of them taking Penny to her father as quickly as possible. At first, Ruby reacts like she didn’t hear Oscar; apparently too lost in her own wild thoughts. It wasn’t until Oscar gently touched Ruby’s shoulder did she finally stir out of her stupor. Long story short, the heroes manage to get Penny 2.0 to Pietro in time. 

After studying her injuries, Pietro reports to everyone that Penny was going to be fine. She may be off duty for a couple of days given that he’ll need time to repair her. 

But beyond that, Pietro assured the group that Penny was going to make a speedy recovery; much to the relief of the heroes. But in spite of hearing the good news, this doesn’t serve to uplift Ruby’s mood and her bothered expression of deep concern is still apparent on her face. Even as JNPR_RWBY depart from the Polendina residence to return up to Atlas. 

As the group look to head back home, Oscar is the one to take notice of Ruby’s awkward silence. 

 I say Oscar of all people rather than her teammates or Yang since it’s been highlighted before that when Ruby is feeling pressured or looks distressed in some shape or form, Oscar is quick to pick up on that.

He’s also been shown to act out on trying to help Ruby in this type of emotional scenario. This is why should we ever get a moment like this in the canon, I can picture it being another prime chance for the Writers to show Oscar being an emotional crutch for Ruby.

If a scene like this ever comes to pass in the series, the way I see it going down is Oscar confronting Ruby again about Penny and the two sharing another heart to heart moment where he gets her to open up about her true feelings. I’ve been itching for another V5 Dojo-esque scene between the Rosebuds.

I’d love to see another example of Oscar helping Ruby through another emotional rut; particularly if it involves Penny.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So to conclude…

I guess the main point I’m really trying to get at here with this musing post is that I don’t believe Ruby’s arc revolving around her grievances about Penny’s death is over. Even with her being back in her life.

It can’t be. Just because Penny was repaired and has returned doesn’t instantly erase the fact that she did die nor does it erase Ruby’s memory and clear trauma over it.  At least, I hope that’s not how the Writers are going to portray it. Ruby’s thing is that she sees Penny as a real girl. She sees her as a person. But Penny isn’t entirely a real person.

She possesses a soul of her own, yes (and I’m curious to learn the origins of said soul) but she’s also a machine. Her body is fake but at her core, she is a living being. Sort of---really need an origin episode on how Penny was created and where Atlas and Ironwood got the soul that’s a part of her.

Did it come from the Relic of Creation? Was Penny an unexpected by-product of the Relic’s power; brought to life by an experiment tested by Ironwood using the Relic of Creation? 

Is the Relic of Creation the RWBY equivalent of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio? Is the being of the Relic of Creation inspired by the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio? 

Who knows? These are all questions I’m looking forward to this season answering for me.

But in the meantime, in regards to Ruby’s bond with Penny, We got to see Ruby grow to care for Penny as a person and what’s interesting to note is that Ruby has always valued Penny as more human than machine.

Keeping that in mind, picture if part of Ruby’s story with Penny for V7 is her leaning to accept that Penny isn’t a real person. This is why I like my theorized scene of having Ruby witness Penny 2.0 being cut down again; highlighting she’s still not over what happened at Beacon. Imagine if that creates an issue for Ruby where she actively feels uncomfortable at the thought of losing Penny time and time again since she can’t handle watching her friend getting destroyed in spite of the fact that she’s a machine that’s built to protect humanity.

I know this concept probably sounds rather farfetched based on how I’m describing it. However, that’s how I’m choosing to look at it; for now. Perhaps the story for this season might change my mind on that. We’ll see.

Anyways, that’s all I have to say on this subject matter for today. For the most part, I hope I managed to answer your question, Jade. As usual, please let me know if I did. I’m always open to hearing other FNDM fam members thoughts on my thoughts on my thoughts.

Similar to you, this squiggle meister is also left pondering why the Writers’ brought back Penny. It’s actually kind of sad that I have to question it. If I wasn’t so skeptical over the CRWBY Writers’ writing decisions given their recent track record then I wouldn’t be questioning this decision so much.

Right now my theories are my best bet at understanding why this decision was made for the plot but that don’t mean that that will be the case in the canon. I’m praying there is a good narrative reason for Penny’s return and that it wasn’t done as a gimmick to hype up the fans for the new season---y’know bringing back another fan favourite character just because they thought it would be quote, unquote, ‘cool to do’.

I didn’t like that that was the rationale for Neo’s return, as mentioned in the V6 DVD Commentary, and I’d be equally peeved if that was the rationale for Penny’s. Then again, maybe I’m getting too ahead of myself here. We’re only one episode into V7 so let’s not jump the gun. Let’s just be patient and wait and see what the rest of the season brings, ya?

Until then, hope you at least enjoyed my new musing post.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

 ~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[amandabe11man]

a VERY LONG post about Hell on Wheels

YEAH i forgot about this post in my drafts... it’s been like a year since i finished the show now and i feel i’ve barfed everything out into this post (that i can think of), so here it goes (you’ll have to shield your eyes after the spoiler warning if you don’t wanna be spoiled btw. i can’t seem to be able to add a read more-link...) :

SO... i finished watching “hell on wheels” at last, pm half a year since i started. it’s funny because i was under the impression that i’d sOMEHOW be able to binge all five seasons within just one month (reason: i wanted to watch it before my free trial on HBO’s website went out). honestly, that wouldn’t have been possible because it was a LOT more emotionally draining than you’d think at first glance... after being gutpunched three times in a row in season 4, any reasonable human would need a little break.

anyway, it feels-- weird. i’ve never been big on following tv-shows so i haven’t been able to relate to that feeling ppl describe once they’ve finished a show they’ve become so attached to, except NOW i can relate. the show’s not groundbreaking, it’s not perfect, but i’ve had a lot of fun. what a ride it’s been...

looking back, i’d say HOW’s biggest weakness is its tendency to forget or ignore certain plot points. i guess that’s not too weird, with such an arsenal of characters, but still, i find that’s what bugged me the most, if anything bugged me at all. for example--

[SPOILERS for those who might wanna watch it after seeing me go on abt it, idk]:

first off, what REALLY grinds my gears is how ezra dutson’s plotline was handled. it was set up perfectly in the beginning; having him escape from the swede (who promised him that, and i quote: “i’ll find you, ezra! i always do”), the original plan was obviously for ezra and the swede to “reunite” some time in the future so that ezra could tell everyone that the swede killed his parents, thus tying up loose ends and giving some closure to that whole arc. some might say this would’ve been too predictable, but i would rather have that predictable storyline than having it just end unceremoniously like it did, with ezra dying ACCIDENTALLY and off-screen by sidney snow’s hand, simply as a way to further bohannon’s pain and set the stage for ruth’s final arc. this might’ve been fine, if the writers had made it so that ezra actually, y’know, TOLD SOMEONE WHY HE’S AN ORPHAN TO BEGIN WITH. but they didn’t even give the viewer that form of closure, instead just deciding to use him as a plot device for the other characters’ increased angst... bohannon and the others were never even made aware of ezra’s last name, and this is all what bugs the everliving SHIT outta me: the only ones who know, or will EVER know, ezra’s full story is the swede and the viewer, tho after season 4′s end, ezra is never mentioned or acknowledged again-- not by bohannon, and not even by the swede. ezra went from convenient character with a PURPOSE to “nameless” orphan forgotten by history. thanks, writers...

then there’s the whole deal with campbell coming to town to reinforce The Law™, which wasn’t a bad arc, mind you-- campbell and his goons were the most infuriating little shits for a while there-- but the thing is; didn’t campbell LIE to his men about the president giving him the position as governor? i might’ve misunderstood it, but i’m PRETTY sure the president didn’t give him THAT much of an upstanding role, but that campbell just went ahead and took that position anyway? if that was indeed the case, then that’s another plot hole, cause nobody finds out about campbell’s possible trickery to become the governor. nobody rats him out, despite literally no one in “his” town liking him all that much, so they’d have no reason to protect his “secret”. (correct me if i’m wrong on this one though. i might be misremembering things)

then there’s the other pretty infuriating issue of bad guys never getting called out for doing bad shit (unless it’s the swede, who gets all the blame, all the time), for example:

major dick bongbendix(???idk he had a silly name like that) is presented VERY MUCH as a bad guy in the beginning. y’know, just casually beheading natives on all his missions and collecting those heads and taking them to the bar like a fucking nutcase-- those little details. he also seemed to believe in racial biology, so yeah, definitely not a good guy. but by the end, he’s been watered down into some quirky guy who’s ALMOST on friendly terms with the main characters. yeah, uh-- seems everyone (writers included) collectively forgot the whole public display of cut-off heads he had going on...

aaron hatch: started off as a guy too proud for his- or his family’s own good when he shot the police officer, BLAMED IT ON HIS FUCKING SON and then just kinda let bohannon hang the kid even though it was pretty obvious hatch was just shifting the blame away from himself. THEN he reappears with some other mormons and causes a full-on shootout in the town (probably getting some people killed, i don’t remember), TAKES EZRA (also a mormon) HOSTAGE SO THAT BOHANNON WILL COME WITH THEM WILLINGLY and passive aggressively forces bohannon to marry his daughter who bohannon knocked up. somewhere along the line, hatch’s bad side is just thrown to the wind, and bohannon at one point describes him as “a good man”. yeah, ABOUT THAT--

sean and mickey mcginnes: unlike the ones mentioned above, these two started out as seemingly decent dudes, but ended up pm as secondary villains in the end. however, like the ones mentioned above, they hardly face any consequences for whatever crap it was they did in boston, OR the fact that they killed and fucking mutilated/dismembered a man in cold blood (a man who WAS gonna kill them, yes, but HE did it because he thought they had killed his friend, which wasn’t a farfetched idea since mickey DID brag about killing the dude even though he didn’t actually do it). sure, they face their OWN demons as time goes on, they get ostracized, and they start losing faith in each other as well, which ends up with mickey killing sean before the latter can confess(?) his/their crimes. so, while sean was spineless and a creep, at least he thought about finally owning up to what he’d done in the end, whereas mickey lives on to keep doing shady shit, killing people, and getting increasingly more corrupt. he does end up pursuing new goals in the end, but it’s obvious he’s not happy about it anymore. that’s-- really all the comeuppance he ever gets, and the only one who knows about his shady businesses are pm just bohannon, durant and eva (also, personal gripe here-- they seemed to not settle for “just” tarring and feathering the swede and publicly humiliating him, but i’m pretty sure i recall mickey telling bohannon they were thinking about having the swede killed too. keep in mind, this was BEFORE the swede truly lost it and started killing people left and right. apparently, being kind of a douche about taxes is bad enough to warrant being tortured and cast out by the entire community... i’m obviously biased here, but still-- the mcginnes bros’ double standards are amazing to behold)

now that i’ve aired some of that out-- here are some highlights, according to me:

unexpected friendships, like that between eva and durant. i’d say the swede finding that stray dog and fawning all over him qualifies into this category too

durant and campbell fighting in the mud before finally coming to an agreement -- just- durant and his competitors being petty as fuck, honestly. it’s hilarious

bohannon trying to get through to elam by reminiscing about their friendship, especially since bohannon isn’t one to show his feelings often OR get sappy -- in fact, EVERY time bohannon loses his stoic facade is a good moment. when he was gonna bury elam and he just broke down completely for the first time since we were introduced to him... that shit had me in tears as well, but man was it a great scene

jimmy two-squaws

every time the swede opens his mouth (yes, even when he’s spouting some lies and bullshit like that)

ruth’s character development. i admit i didn’t like her at all in the beginning, idk something just felt off about her, but man did she ever grow on me. just-- how everyone kinda relied on her eventually, even though she’s only like in her 20′s or something... she still became a pillar of the community. bless ya, ruth :’ı -- also, her essentially adopting ezra was Pure as heck. I Lov it

the fact that this was the 1800′s and the only backlash the (openly) LGBT characters faced for it was pm just “yeah they’re a bit confused maybe but they’re not hurting anyone”. maybe that’s not very realistic but WHO GIVES A SHIT AMIRITE

mr tao just being a sweet old man

chang’s sunglasses, straight out of Django Unchained

mr toole’s complete heel-turn from racist POS to someone who sticks by his word to turn himself around. that shit was impressive coming from him, tbh

bohannon just calmly running into a buffalo by the train tracks

mei posing as a grown man instead of a boy (which is what she looks and sounds like, oml)

another thing i realized is that bohannon is a classic gary stu. there’s just no getting around that fact after seeing him being revered by most everyone he meets, how he’s somehow the only person able to build the railroad(s) fast and efficiently, and even wooing the literal PRESIDENT and becoming close friends with him-- all this despite his Bold and Brash personality. of course, there’s more to bohannon than these gary stu-symptoms, but i felt someone should bring it up, for the lulz

[oc-rehab-centre]

How To Make An Ackerman OC

(Artist: Xue Lian Yue) 

How To Make An Ackerman OC

The Ackerman Family is a very iconic bloodline, exclusive to the Shingeki No Kyojin Universe. A byproduct of titan engineering, the Ackermans possess unimaginable strength once reaching an “awakened” state, through which their strength is triggered. Levi and Mikasa Ackerman are arguably some of the manga’s icons and are well known by many members of other fandoms.

With such an interesting and enigmatic aura to the Ackerman Family - it is understandable that many people in the OC Fandom might take interest in having an Ackerman of their own. While typically - we would advise you here to avoid having fanmade characters be related to canon characters, here - we are going to try and discuss the tropes and cliches of Ackerman OCs. We will tell you what to avoid - and perhaps give you some pointers on how to improve upon your OC. As usual, what you read will be based merely off of personal opinions.

More may be added into to in the future! If you have any suggestions or tropes you would like us to add, send us a message and we’ll add how we best believe could correct that trope/problem!

Trope 1 - Tragic Ackerpast

Sad backstories are not an uncommon thing in Attack on Titan. A majority of the show’s main characters have tragic pasts, and the Ackermans are no different. Of the two childhoods we have seen, Levi’s mother passed away while he was still young and he only learned enough to survive in the Underground District before being left by Kenny.

Despite being from a bloodline that is actively trying to be suppressed - does not mean they need to have a tragic backstory to validate their Ackerman heritage. 

Perhaps your OC grew up a little rough around the edges - but their entire nuclear family does not have to be slaughtered - nor do they have to be adopted or fostered by some abusive parents or the perfect, rich parents for their own protection. While this may help your OC better “correlate” with the canon Ackermans in the series, OC critics will be picky of details and certainly pounce on you for this. Just because they are an Ackerman OC does not mean they need an “edgy” backstory. 

Note: This fact/tip of OC creation does not just apply to Ackerman OCs! Shingeki No Kyojin, as gruesome as it is - not every character has a tragic past, filled with murder, melancholy and abuse. While tragic pasts can add to certain fanmade characters, it can detract from others. Be sure to do it well, if you decide a tragic past would suit your character, and try to avoid the common tropes/cliches.

Another thing worth mentioning - people seem to dub Kenny as an abusive relative. That man is caring and sweet in his own kind of way. Regardless of the fact that he is a killer, he is very human. 

Trope 2 - Forms of Levi Connection

There are various thing that never fail to annoy me about the Ackerman OCs and their relationships to Levi, but I shall only explain and resolve a few of these pet peeves - because they go against the known canon. I’ll list them below - and then you can read about them.

Levi is the Father/Brother/Uncle/etc.

The Thug “Quartet”

Being a Scout

1. Levi is the Father/Brother/Uncle/etc.

A majority of the Ackerman OCs I have seen are in one way or another, connected to Levi. After browsing a few of the Ackerman OCs via Google and looking through their biographies to discover their Ackerman heritage - Levi was almost always the father. And, if not the father - he tended to be either the older brother of the OC.

While there is nothing to confirm the fact that Levi does not have any siblings, I would just like to say - it is unlikely that any of Levi’s fanmade siblings, would be Ackermans. Kuchel, after having Levi - would likely not bear any more children after him - considering the fact that she was presumably sickly even before her son’s birth. (Idea: Remember, Levi has a father, even though he is never seen or named. If Levi’s illegitimate father was a player and enjoyed screwing with lots of prostitutes, you can theoretically have an OC to Levi who isn’t an Ackerman!)

I got a little carried away in that last statement, but I feel personally like it is a realistic idea, far more realistic than Levi having any siblings younger than himself.  Levi having older siblings is an idea I am honestly less opposed to, on the condition that they are done well, of course.

What is even better than having your Ackerman OC related to Levi, remember that Levi, Kenny and Kuchel only make up one side, hell, perhaps even just one branch of the Ackerman Family. In comparison to Levi, Mikasa’s side of the Ackerman family is practically estranged from Ackerman OCs. It is always a matter of being related to Levi, rather than Mikasa. 

Perhaps you can propose that Mr. Ackerman (Mikasa’s father) has brothers or sisters who have Ackerman children of their own. You are free to be crafty with OCs - as long as they make logical sense!! You have the opportunity to fill in gaps which Hajime Isayama never filled in himself with your own headcanons and plot ideas. Perhaps that man has a stat of 11/10 mystery for a reason you can fill in!

Now to move away from siblings of Levi is concerning a majority of Ackerman OCs - the children of Levi. Many children of Levi tend to be the product of either common pairings (Levihan, Rivetra, Ereri, etc.) or of a canon x oc couple. While these OCs are very prevalent in the fandom, it is quite annoying. Many OC critics argue that children of Levi are instantaneously Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus because their very existence breaks canon and they will advise you to rethink your consideration of making your OC an Ackerman. 

Common themes in Levi being the father are typically not believable. Many creators fail to consider the fact that Levi’s age when making their OCs, the product of canon ships or canon x oc pairs. Many people often forget that Levi did not join the Scouts until 844, a year before the Fall of Wall Maria - yet (this is only an example), he has a child who is 15 years old and a member of the 104th Trainees Squadron by 847. I have seen very many Ackerman OCs whose aging does not fit at all into the timeline of the Attack on Titan, so be cautious and take a few minutes to make sure the dates make sense. Just use a calculator or some mental math skills - and make sure it is passable.

2. The Thug Quartet

Moving on - often times, if the OC grew up in the Underground, they are a fourth member of the Thug Trio - composed of Levi, Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church.

In relation to the question regarding the insertion of an OC in the Thug Trio - I would personally advise OC creators to avoid this. One of the most unoriginal things you can do, which can potentially destroy a fan character is plopping them straight into the series and rewriting the canonical timeline to accommodate your character. This just takes so much originality out of a fan character, and much of the fun out of creating one as well.

A good fan character FITS into a storyline. The canon story should not have to be altered for them to fit into the series. If you are altering canonical events in the story so that it bends to the personal history/timeline of your own character, I’m sorry to tell you this, but stop. For the sake of having a good OC, just stop.

If you want your OC to also live in the Underground District, certainly, they can still be an Ackerman and not be part of Levi’s Thug Trio to, uh, still be a thug - if you’re dead set on your character being a thug. 

3. Being A Scout

Let’s be honest. A majority of the OCs in this fandom are soldiers and members of the Scouting Legion. There is nothing wrong with being in the Scouting Legion, Hell - most of my own OCs are in the Scouting Legion. Now allow me to explain why this peeves me. 

In connection to the idea of the “Thug Quartet”, a few Ackerman OCs (and also many OCs in general) I have seen have been exploited for their strength and are pretty much Levi, regurgitated in a much smaller, female form. The fact that many Ackerman OCs are asked by Erwin to join the Scouting Legion, rather than joining by their own free will. 

*inhale* Just a little bit of salt - people seem to forget Erwin wasn’t the Commander until 845. I’m very nitpicky when it comes to the dates, warning to all the future OCs I will review! 

The Scouting Legion is not a first choice for most sane individuals, especially prior to the year 847, when Eren convinced a sizable portion of the main cast to join the Scouts with his teenage, hormonal military propaganda. It was/is a death wish to be part of the Scouting Legion - punishment, depending on how you look at it. Refrain from having your Ackerman Oc (or any OC) be convinced to join the Scouts in the same manner as Levi, Isabel and Farlan - it makes for a very unoriginal concept.

Trope 3: The Ackerman Archetypes 

If you ask people to describe Levi and Mikasa Ackerman, the answers you will get will be pretty simple and basic. They are badass, reserved, and powerful. In this section - we’re gonna discuss what OC creators forget to keep in mind when making their Ackerman OC, and these are basically the stereotypes. 

Personality 

Physical Appearance

Strength

1. Personality 

A common misconception about members of the Ackerman Family is that they are all cold and stoic characters who are not overly expressive, often seen frowning subtly in a detached, mysterious manner. GOD. This is an incredibly annoying thing to see in Ackerman OCs - personalities are not genetic and furthermore, the Ackermans are not soulless beings incapable of emotions, just because their badass levels are OVER 9000!!

It’s a common misconception as well that the Ackermans are all stone-faced individuals, but God.. Isayama and WIT Studio have done a lot better in recent chapters/episodes to show both Levi and Mikasa with expressions other than, y’know: 

That. 

Just because they are an Ackerman does not mean they have to be exactly like Levi or Mikasa - they are free to have their own original personalities. 

2. Physical Appearance

Another very common trait of Ackerman OCs is their appearance. In a majority of Ackerman OCs - they will have jet-black hair, light pigmented eyes which if blue, will more often than not be described as “ice blue”. (lol) 

This is admittedly a rather justified trait. We see that many of the Ackermans from Levi’s known side of the family possess dark hair and light eye. (with the exception of Grandpa Ackerman, but we can assume he had darker hair in his youth, unless it was a trait from Grandma Ackerman.) It can be argued that dark hair and light eyes are dominant genetic traits, but not every canon Ackerman is dark haired.

Going back to Mr. Ackerman, we know that he has light hair - and therefore proves that not all Ackermans have dark hair. Black hair does not have to be the only colour that exists in Ackermans. Brunette, blonde, fawn - please! I’d love to see some Ackerman OCs who do not have astoundingly light/bright coloured eyes or black hair! It would actually be refreshing to see an Ackerman OC who does not look like a carbon copy of fem! Levi. It will certainly help your character seem more original, despite being an Ackerman!

3. Strength (+ Ackerbond Concept)

Out of all of the archetypes seem in Ackerman OCs - what pisses me off the most is a lack of understanding of the Ackerman’s strength and its origin. There are countless Ackerman OCs who have stats that surpass Levi’s. This not only breaks canon - but seeing Ackerman OCs with stats that say “Battle Skill: 12/10″ and such of that sort, but in their bio, there is never anything stated about a traumatic/changing event that sparked that fire, just makes OC critics wonder if you have really done your homework on how the Ackermans work.

For those who don’t understand what the Hell I’m trying to say here, news flash - the Ackermans are not born as ripe, killing machines. Their strength is often dormant, only awakening in response to an event which causes them to feel threatened, endangered or simply so god damn sh00k that their physiology alters drastically, giving them superhuman strength. 

In a flashback episode from Season 1 of Attack on Titan, back when the scenes of the manga were animated accurately and at a reasonable pace - (*cough* Season 3 *cough cough*) we see firsthand how Mikasa’s strength is unlocked. 

As a result of trauma and developing what the fandom commonly calls an “Ackerbond” to Eren Jaeger, it is only here when Mikasa is able to find the drive to fight and her ability to do so nearly flawlessly. An “Ackerbond” can be defined as a special and unbreakable bond formed between an Ackerman who they fiercely devote themselves to. Known Ackerbonds that exist are the bonds between: Uri Reiss/Kenny Ackerman, Eren Jaeger/Mikasa Ackerman and Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith. 

Some Ackermans, like Mr. Ackerman - never awaken their Acker-strength, and live just like ordinary people, not possessing Ackerbonds or many of the defining traits of the Ackerman bloodline.

Out of the many Ackerman OC bios I have read, a majority completely gloss over the fact that Ackermans are not born as natural warriors - but it is instead something that must be awoken. They often fail to describe HOW their OC came to unlock their power - and even fewer detail the concepts of Ackerbonds between their OC and another character. Hell. Wait. I’ve never even seen an Ackerman OC with an Ackerbond - they just tend to be in love with someone, but that doesn’t count as an Ackerbond.

I would strongly advise, if your OC is an “awoken” Ackerman with stats that exceed 10/10, that you include details about how they achieved their superhuman strength and who they are Ackerbonded to. Additionally, having an Ackerman OC who is not “awoken” and is just your average Joe is also fine, perhaps even better, in some cases! 

But in all cases, DO NOT go putting your OC as “Humanities Strongest”, surpassing Levi Ackerman, Mike Zacharius or Mikasa Ackerman! Just... Just don’t, why should be self explanatory. 

Assorted Tropes + Pet Peeves

Age and Profession: A majority of the Ackerman OCs appear to be no older than 20 by the year 850. Teenaged OCs are common and cliched in this fandom, and being graduates of the 104th Trainees Squadron is another overly used concept. It would be nice to see some Ackerman OCs who are not soldiers or teenagers/young adults. 

Too Many Canon-Breaking Qualities: Some of the most canon-breaking tropes among OCs would be things like canon x OC shipping. Now - I personally have nothing against canon x OC shipping, it does not bother me at all when it is done right. But, having an Ackerman OC is special enough. To keep from getting negative attention and commentaries - try to limit the amount of special qualities you give your OC. This does not apply to only Ackerman OCs, but to OCs in general! Giving your character too many special qualities - like the canon shipping and a spot in Levi’s squadron breaks the canon, and will detract from your character rather than add to it!

Summary of Main Points

Avoid giving your Ackerman OC too many traits that make them overly characteristic and put stress on the canon like: incredibly tragic pasts, canon x oc shipping, being part Asian or from another iconic family, being a member of  the 104th Squadron, being part of the Special Ops. Squadron, etc. Try keeping your OC’s life lowkey and avoid making them too special.

Your character does not have to be directly related to Levi, Mikasa or Kenny to be an Ackerman. There is such freedom to expand the family tree - so take advantage of the plotholes!

Make sure your character FITS into the canon - rather than the canon having to change to accommodate their personal storyline. Try to avoid plopping your character straight into the canonverse - you have the freedom to be creative and give them a story of their own!

Try not to use the Ackerman stereotypes - like the certain personality, appearance and strength without delving deeper to explain why they are the way they are! 

If they have stats over 10/10 - please, remember to explain why! Ackermans often don’t have their full strength unless their strength is triggered or awoken - often because of a traumatic event or when they discover the person they are Ackerbonded to!! If your OC has high stats and is an Ackerman, find a character for them to be Ackerbonded to!

This is all for now! Thank you for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope it helped~!

[enixamyram]

Otherwise known as:

No. These are not plot holes. Seriously. It’s amazing how many of these are not plot holes. Do you know what a plot hole is? I can get the definition up for you if you’d like.

This is - at most - an unfinished story. Not a plot hole. And if you’re gonna complain about THIS unfinished story, then you need to complain about a whole other unfinished story. And even then, Ruby’s story is much more finished than say: Leroy & Nova’s, Lily’s, Mulan’s, Graham’s, Kathryn’s, Lancelot & Guinevere’s, pretty much most of the cast from Season 1 and so on...

A somewhat arguable plot hole. The writer points out that Regina cloaks the town from others after she has already encountered Owen and his father. The reason I say this is arguable is because this is very true, but there are also two easy explanations at the same time that debunk it as a plot hole.

For example, Storybrooke pretty much appeared on top of Own and his dad and it was only after they left that they could no longer return. Or otherwise - and the stronger argument - we have seen there is a small touch of magic in Storybrooke even if everyone claims otherwise - Regina’s ring of Daniel, her vault of heart’s, Malificent’s dragon form underground, Regina even creates a memory potion to forget who Henry is right after she adopts him. So there’s clearly some magic, just a limited supply of it. Meaning she could have used a chunk of the magic to cloak the town after Owen left.

Agreed. This is either a massive plot hole or a character issue telling us that Regina never really redeemed herself. And since it’s clear the show wants us to believe that Regina is a good person now, it is a major plot hole that she still has her vault of hearts so casually that she even mentions/shows them to WishRobin in Season 6.

Agree and disagree. This is why Uniting the Realms didn’t work because not everyone would be happy to leave their home and live in Storybrooke. However the writers reason doesn’t work for me.

“A few of them might be happier in their original spaces, where at least they wouldn’t have to hide who they are,” They don’t have to hide who they are in Storybrooke? After the protection spell was cast they all went about their normal lives without any fear or hiding? I mean... Did you miss Ruby’s whole episode about how she casually turns into a wolf to go running at night because she knows she can here?

“and wouldn’t have to deal with all of Storybrooke’s drama.” Because the Enchanted Forest was drama free? Dude, it’s literally Fairy Tale stories in that place, with women getting pregnant and having secret babies and witches cursing people and bandits having to fight back against Royal Rampage against the poor citizens. I’m pretty sure Storybrooke is actually LESS dramatic than the Enchanted Forest.

“Although it’s possible that they’ve become attached to sliced bread and flushing toilets, it seems silly that nobody thinks to bring these conveniences back home and make a mint on sandwiches and plumbing.”  So not only did you say it yourself by saying they’ve become attached to their new lives. But those things you listed would most likely eventually run out? Or otherwise they’re not so easily transported without magic? And anyway what’s the point? Why take turn the Enchanted Forest into Storybrooke by taking all the things you love there with you when you can just stay in Storybrooke where it’s already there?

Addressing the one and only example they give of this:

“For example, in season 2, episode 12, she misses the fact that the stranger lied about what he saw prior to the crash. This seems like an easy get for someone who can sense a lie.”

Again. This isn’t necessarily a plot hole. I never believed Emma’s ability to detect lies was actually magical. She had it before she went to Storybrooke (in a land without magic remember) and I think it’s just that, after her hard life, she’s become good at reading people. Which means she’s bound to make one or two mistakes every now and then, especially when she’s nervous and when a lot of things are happening at once (like when Greg came over the town line - right after Belle lost her memory, Hook was captured, they were still dealing with Regina and Cora, as well as adjusting to all the fairy tale characters being here and so on).

The only example of a heart turning truly black was Rumplestiltskin who had been alive and doing bad deeds for HUNDREDS of years. Maybe if Cora lived as long as Rumple then she would have a blacker heart, but as of now, it’s entirely possible that the black in her heart is there and we simply couldn’t see it. I don’t think we ever really saw a complete shot of her heart close up like we did Snow’s.

Another running theory is that the blackness of your heart depends on how much you acknowledge what you’re doing as wrong. Rumple did bad things and he knew full well they were bad. Cora was more the type to always insist she was doing the right thing and probably truly believed it.

I want to agree because “all magic comes with a price” is a very inconsistent detail in the show... But again, the writers reasons don’t quite sit right with me.

“We meet one when our heroes use forbidden magic to save Robin’s life, and the ensuring fracas is something of a big deal. After all that drama, you’d expect a Fury to appear every time someone’s brought back from the brink of death, or especially from death itself.” You said it yourself. The fury came after Robin because “forbidden” magic was used to save his life. How many other times is the Dark One magic used to save a life? Well Emma used it to save Hook, but not quite and even if it is the same, Hook paid the price by becoming the Dark One. Correct me if I’m wrong but how often was a character saved by Dark magic?

“The storybook is a convenient plot point that’s never explained, and thus becomes a plot hole.”

Okay and I know this is the excuse everyone hates and doesn’t like and blah blah blah but...

Magic.

That is literally the answer. I know it’s normally a cop out but in this case it’s actually genuine. Magic made the book appear in Mary Margaret’s closet one day (like she says in the show) and yes, there’s not a reason given. Maybe it was Merlin influence in the world, maybe there’s a natural magic in the world that gives good people happy endings, maybe Henry’s belief brought it to existence and then set it in place to find its way to him.

Again, it’s not a plot hole. More of an unexplained/unfinished plot but it’s very clear the show is using their “Magic” card on this one. And just because it’s not spelled out to you, doesn’t make it a plot hole.

Agreed. This is a plot hole that really made no sense since it was made clear that August was made of wood right now. Maybe if they had it burn him (have the others acknowledge a blackened burn on his chest or something) but we’re supposed to believe he was electrocuted from it???

We’ve seen Storybrooke. It’s a whole town with farms and other buildings and places. So there is obviously more to it than the main sets (aka, Granny’s). It’s a community that basically learned to live off each other.

Otherwise, and I know I keep using this excuse but it’s a legit excuse in this show: Magic!

Magic made the day repeat for 28 years so it’s a safe assumption that once the day restarted, surely magic must have kept/made a certain place for supplies or restocked the homes to keep anyone from suspecting anything. And then after the curse was broken, everyone could plan out the rest either by once again using magic or otherwise by creating their own sources.

I just have a problem with everything they say on this one.

“Aside from the impossibility of importing goods into Storybrooke, there’s no way that everyone in town has a job.” ... But surely if they can’t have goods imported to them, then they need to make do on their own which would GIVE people jobs.

“There are probably four businesses that we see throughout the show, counting a dwarf-run farm.” ... Again, as you just said, this is only what we SEE. This is where the main characters hang out but we know for a fact there’s a pet rescue place, a carpenter, a mechanic, and so many other places we haven’t seen. Like I don’t understand the assumption that there are no other businesses apart from what we are physically shown.

“If Regina’s capable of casting the original curse, then why go to all of this trouble in the first place? Why not stay home and dominate there?” ... This is a troll question right? 1) Casting the curse was an incredibly hard feet that included killing the thing she loved most. 2) She went through all the trouble because she couldn’t hurt David or Snow - the objects of her revenge - in the Enchanted Forest. 3) She tried dominating her home. It didn’t work. That’s the exact point and reason why she cast the curse!

Agreed. It’s pretty obvious the Zarian storyline actually came to them only AFTER they had brought already Marian back.

*Sigh* You know, I’m getting real tired of Mulan and Aurora always appearing on these lists. Because most of them is just whining that they didn’t happen rather than legit points. Case and point:

“The first time Once Upon A Time flirted with the idea of two girls flirting with each other, it was when Aurora and Mulan nearly became girlfriends after Phillip’s passing.” They never nearly became girlfriends at all. They became friends but Aurora showed absolutely NO signs of returning Mulan’s SECRET feelings for her. You people need to drop this idea that this ship would of happened if not for Philip because that’s simply not the case.

“What really doesn’t make sense is that Mulan and Aurora have no more history at all. After the intensity of their nascent feelings, it doesn’t make sense that the show would just forget about them as a couple.” Again, they WEREN’T A COUPLE. They were friends. and ONCE AGAIN. A dropped/unfinished storyline is NOT a plot hole. And I actually think it wrapped up their story nicely (not actually nicely but you know what I mean). Mulan loved Aurora, Aurora didn’t return her feelings. When Mulan went to finally confess, she found out Aurora was pregnant and realised Aurora was happy with her family so Mulan bid her farewells and joined the Merry Men. That is their story! Just because you don’t like the direction it took, doesn’t mean it’s a plot hole! Learn the definition of a plot hole before you make great big lists about them!

I’m gonna leave this one. Just because ages confuse me and so does the timeline so I can’t really judge how accurate the writer is on this one.

I’m gonna agree but for different reasons to the writer. And simply because The Evil Queen is built up to be one of the worst enemies that the heroes have ever faced. But really think: What did she actually do while she was free running around Storybrooke for so long? Having her back was meant to be a great threat but aside from occasionally get in the way/slow other stories down, she really wasn’t all that good at being Evil.

Agreed. Just, agreed.

Well, when I think about it I originally agreed except that it didn’t actually defeat the Dragon. He showed up not long after perfectly fine (which to me, is a bigger plot hole than Tamara’s taser stunning him).

“Imagine how confusing and traumatizing that hospital stay would be for the already confused and traumatized Belle.” Imagine how confusing and traumatizing it would be for Belle to walk down the street and run into Ruby mid transformation? Or imagine how confusing and traumatizing it would be for her to run into Cora on a bad day? Like. They kept her in hospital BECAUSE she was so confused and traumatized and they needed to keep an eye on her until she calmed down and they could trust her to take care of herself. Like... Of all places to freak Belle out right now, I actually think a hospital is the LEAST likely to do so.

Uh, again... This isn’t a plot hole. It’s a character trait. Cora was determined to rise to the top ranks, which meant making her daughter Queen! Not just a Princess, but an actually QUEEN. This is very firmly stated in the show and it is very clear that Cora did not give a shit what Regina wanted anyway. She didn’t care that Regina had an easy life, she wanted her daughter to be Queen because she was determined to be top dog (through her daughter).

Um, just because it’s possible doesn’t mean Rumple should know about it. As far as he was aware, it is impossible to bring back the dead and it is certainly out of his power to do - which was what Regina was asking to learn.

Also, your examples of people brought back: Emma - When was she dead? Do you mean at the end of S6 because, fair enough that was a deus ex machina thing they wanted to throw in for dramatic affect. Phillip - Wasn’t dead, his soul was just trapped in another place Hook - God’s trump Sorcerers. Henry - His heart had only just stopped when Emma used TLK, so that’s kind of like doing CPR. Maleficent - I’ll agree her’s is a plot hole. It’s stated she died several times and yet they bring her back relatively easily, but at least with her you can claim she’s more of a zombie since if she leaves the town she’ll crumple back into dust.

Here is the definition of a Plot Hole:  an inconsistency in the narrative or character development of a book, film, television programme, etc.

An incomplete story is NOT a plot hole. Which is what a lot of these are. Because it wasn’t spelled out for them, they claim plot hole but that isn’t the case. A plot hole is a factual information that was already stated in the show and was then changed without explanation later on (not to be confused with a retcon).

Off the top of my head, an example of two major plot holes are Season 7.

1st - Drizella apparently only needed Regina’s “magic” to cast the curse which is a complete plot hole because it is made very clear at least 3-4 times that you need to sacrifice the heart of the thing you love most to cast it. In fact later, Regina talks about everyone sacrificing a piece of their heart in order to cast the curse again. 2nd - Time travelling should have changed the entire course of history like it did in S3, yet at the end of S7, when they time travel, no one seems to mind talking to their past selves or running through Storybrooke. By any rights, the whole of S7 should have changed completely by the time they were done.

[laniakeabooks]

January Wrap Up

I read 11 books in January which is a personal record. I’ve included the synopsis pulled directly from Goodreads and my (short) thoughts on the book. If you’d like a longer review of any of the books I read this month, feel free to request it!

The Innocence Treatment by Ari Goelman - ⭐⭐⭐

Lauren has a disorder that makes her believe everything her friends tell her--and she believes everyone is her friend. Her innocence puts her at constant risk, so when she gets the opportunity to have an operation to correct her condition, she seizes it. But after the surgery, Lauren is changed. Is she a paranoid lunatic with violent tendencies? Or a clear-eyed observer of the world who does what needs to be done?

Told in journal entries and therapy session transcripts, The Innocence Treatment is a collection of Lauren's papers, annotated by her sister long after the events of the novel. A compelling YA debut thriller that is part speculative fiction and part shocking tell-all of genetic engineering and government secrets, Lauren's story is ultimately an electrifying, propulsive, and spine-tingling read.

 Nothing I found particularly impressive… it had potential but didn’t quite meet it.

 The Memory Book by Lara Avery - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way--not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

So the Memory Book is born: Sammie's notes to her future self, a document of moments great and small. It's where she'll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime crush, Stuart--a brilliant young writer who is home for the summer. And where she'll admit how much she's missed her childhood best friend, Cooper, and even take some of the blame for the fight that ended their friendship.

Through a mix of heartfelt journal entries, mementos, and guest posts from friends and family, readers will fall in love with Sammie, a brave and remarkable girl who learns to live and love life fully, even though it's not the life she planned.

 I am shocked. I never expected to like a contemporary this much... especially "sick-lit" or whatever people are calling it. Maybe it was because I found a lot of what Sammie said to be so relatable, or maybe because NPC is exactly the type of disease I'd like to research in my future. Maybe it's because one of my greatest fears is getting dementia and losing my memory.

Whatever it was, I hope I can find it again in another book.

 Vox by Christina Dalcher - ⭐⭐

 Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial—this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice

 Uh, yeah, not impressed. Disappointed. Annoyed. It felt like Dalcher was trying too hard and was clearly ridding on the coattails of The Handmaid’s Tale’s recent re-emergence.

Also, the narrator on the audiobook and pronounce Wernicke’s area which just grated on my nerves and honestly pissed me off.

 First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 It started for pranks, fun, and forever memories.

A secret society – for the four of us.

The rules: Never lie. Never tell. Love each other.

We made the pledge and danced under the blood moon on the meteorite in the orchard. In the spot we found the dead girl five years earlier. And discovered the ancient drawings way before that.

Nothing could break the four of us apart – I thought.

But then, others wanted in. Our seaside town had secrets. History.

We wanted revenge.

We broke the rules. We lied. We told. We loved each other too much, not enough, and in ways we weren’t supposed to.

Our invention ratcheted out of control.

What started as a secret society, ended as justice. Revenge. Death. Rebellion.

 Wooooowwwww... I am starting off this year with some pretty good reads. Granted, I read probably 3/4 of this one in emerge on my birthday after having twisted my knee skiing the day before...

This book didn't take the path I thought it would. It just felt like the climax and conclusion occurred in the same paragraph? I don't know maybe that's just me...

I'd love to see this as a TV show (maybe Netflix since they tend to do a rocking job).

 Day 21 by Cass Morgan - ⭐⭐⭐

 It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.

In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan's The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can -- together.

 I still much prefer the Netflix adaptation. Although I enjoy this recovering from an apocalyptic event storyline the books take, I find that they lack the action that I love so much in the show… not to mention that my favourite characters don’t exist.

 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteen birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.

In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.

 Be prepared for a spoiled, bratty, unlikable main character. If you can’t stand characters like this, then I suggest avoiding this read, especially since we are trapped in her head (1st person narration) for the duration of the book. However, Lexi does have a great character arc, so if you are able to tolerate her for the first half of the book, you’ll actually start to like her.

Another contemporary I really enjoyed… not sure if this is because I’m not as picky when it comes to my favourite and least favourite genres anymore, but then again it my just be that I stumbled across two contemporaries that suited my fancy this month.

 The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .

 Okay. First of all, the UK paperback cover is gorgeous. This would have one hundred percent been a cover buy if the synopsis hadn’t also intrigued me.

I went in thinking that it would be a space-based romance, but boy was I wrong. And good thing too. I’m not a huge fan of romance (more like I tolerate it for a good plot), and this book did not focus of the blooming romance as much as I thought it would.

Space, suspense, beautiful cover? Sign me up!

 Crash by Lisa McMann - ⭐⭐⭐

 Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

 Not bad but not amazing either. It’s your typical psychic teen struggling with her newly found gifts and trying to prevent a tragedy. I’ll continue on with the trilogy since I have the bind up, they’re quick reads, and they’re a good distraction from my stressful studies… so basically just what I need.

 Bang by Lisa McMann - ⭐⭐⭐

 Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

 This second book in the Visions series took an interesting turn on the whole psychic thing, but a lot of the book was spent going back and forth between “No I don’t want to do this” to “Yes I’m in” and “No I don’t want to help” to, again… “Yes I’m in” which was kind of a drag.

 Number of Pages Read: 3438

Average Rating: 3.5

Favourite Book of the Month: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The cover, the space adventure, the thriller-type aspect to the plot… everything I love all in one.

Least Favourite Book of the Month: Vox by Christina Dalcher

I was just… really disappointed.

  Keep up with me on Goodreads!  (https://www.goodreads.com/LaniakeaBooks)

[nikiforoov]

“yuuri didn’t go to university in detroit” and other catchy clickbait titles

i just want to return to this post (please check it out before reading this) about yuuri’s time in the us for a few seconds! i’m not sure if i’ve ever put my thoughts on the subject in one place before so here goes!

the popular fanon ideas about yuuri’s time in detroit seem to be that he was there either through an exchange program or transferred to a detroit university completely, but i don’t think either of these are correct! which, obviously, is why i’m writing this ahaha. i’m basing most of this on tatsuki machida’s career! a lot of yuuri’s pre-series career was based on his although they’ve altered the timeline to fit the plot.

putting the rest under a cut because oops this got a bit long

background info

machida put his studies on hold when he started training in the us in ‘11 (x) and qualified for the gpf for the first time in ‘12 where he finished 6th. then in ‘14 – because of the stress and lack of sleep from writing his thesis during the competition (x) – he basically blew his fs and finished 6th again and announced his retirement after nationals because he wanted to focus on his studies (x)

sounds familiar, right? i think it’s pretty obvious that yuuri’s career is a combination of all those events: he was training in the us when he qualified for the gpf for the first time, blew his fs and fell to the last place. this is where the yoi storyline begins and the stories become different! so instead of retiring after winning silver in nationals like machida, yuuri suffered another major loss, spent three months finishing his studies and graduated in late march.

(at this point i can practically hear you all going “but what does any of this have to do with his time in detroit, alli!” and i’m getting to that, i promise!)

where did yuuri study then?

okay so we know yuuri had been away from hasetsu for five years before ep1, and i think that’s why a lot of people assume he lived in detroit for a long time. however, yuuri’s bio on the jsf website in ep1 mentions he’s studying in kinogakuin university (x), which is obviously a fictional university. i’ve seen a lot of speculation on which university might be its real life counterpart, and the most common theory seems to be kansai university since a lot of figure skaters – including machida, wow what a coincidence right?  – have studied there. so if we assume kinogakuin is located in osaka like kansai university is, well, that’s a pretty long way from hasetsu and it would make sense that yuuri probably didn’t have time (or money, figure skating is expensive as hell) to visit his family even when he was studying in the same country. so him being away for so long doesn’t necessarily mean he was living in another country!

it’s also pretty much 100% certain the university he graduated from in ep1 was kinogakuin, since it happened right before he returned to hasetsu in late march which is when the japanese school year ends (x). it also makes a lot more sense for hiroko to apologize for not being able to travel to osaka than to detroit! 

that doesn’t mean yuuri didn’t study in detroit?

true, it doesn’t. but listen.

going briefly back to machida’s career: he put his studies on hold and focused completely on skating while he was training in the us. yuuri probably did the same. so let’s say yuuri moved to the us a little later than machida, who did so in the spring. maybe even in the middle of the season, around new years, one year pre-canon? in this case yuuri would have been one semester from graduating when he left. and then he returns to japan exactly one year later and finishes his studies. this timeline would fit perfectly with mari’s comment about yuuri having to study an extra year, which would be the year he spent training in detroit! so timeline-wise, there’s no need for yuuri to have been doing university courses during his time in detroit.

but didn’t yuuri train under celestino for more than a year?

i’m 99% sure this hasn’t been stated anywhere, and from what i know it’s nothing but a popular fanon idea. celestino and yuuri’s past relationship has been in fact referred to in only one scene in ep4, where yuuri finally contacts him again. i think the idea of them having worked together for a longer time comes from celestino saying yuuri only brought him a music piece once, which can be understood as there having been many other occasions where he just let celestino pick for him. i think it just means that yuuri brought that one cd, and gave up after celestino questioned him about it instead of sticking with it or trying different ones.

what about phichit?

if you’re asking me “but alli, were they roommates??” i have no idea ahaha but i’d go with no, probably not. mainly because we have nothing to back up the fanon, unless we count approximately 20 seconds of footage with them sitting in the same room as evidence. EDIT// i am happy to say that i had completely forgotten the official website and go yuri go!!! fanbook both introduce phichit as yuuri’s detroit era roommate!! so yes, they were roommates! (oh my god they were roommates)

and if you’re asking how long phichit trained in detroit, my answer is still that i have no idea! he might have moved there a bit earlier than yuuri tho? but that’s just my feeling which is based on nothing.

... and i think that was all? oh wow, feels good to get all this out of my head! please feel free to ask questions and comment if you notice things that just don’t add up or are blatantly wrong, i’ve been writing this til the early hours of morning so my concentration isn’t at its best ahaha D: but anyway, thank you for coming to my ted talk ♥

[avalonbayblog]

Feel free to share. I'm curious how you feel.

So, for Tommy and Kat, I’m of two minds with it. I like TomKat (or  Katherommy or however you name them) as much as I like Tomberly, but part of me wishes that (and I’ve seen this going around) we’ve had some more time to see Tommy work through PTSD and his ranger duties. (This is actually going to be half of the main plot of Tommy’s story in my Powerless series, so spoilers). Not to mention...I wish for the graphic novel it was anyone but Tommy. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Tommy, but he’s so much of the face of PR that I’m starting to get REALLY tried of him. I get it, he was the evil green ranger, it still bothers him, he’s so strong, blah blah blah. But it’s ALWAYS done. Even in Dino Thunder it had to be brought up again. And now in the Ninja Steel upcoming episode suddenly (spoilers) HE gets the morpher that will let him morph into all his past forms? Same with Kimberly/Ranger Slayer within Shattered Grid, honestly. The fact that those two are ALWAYS the ones that are chosen to be featured in some way really ticks me off when it’d be more interesting, in my opinion, to see more of the other rangers.

Why not Jason? Why not Zack? Why not Billy? My bias of Billy aside, I think that getting a main storyline from his POV (where it’s not so focused on the era where he’s so much a geek, but during Zeo/into Turbo where he’s on his own so much) you can see his thoughts and feelings about everything. Plus, I want to know if my idea that Billy really wanted to be a ranger still and his thoughts on the Gold Ranger are correct, lol.

But for the series after Shattered Grid that focuses on Tanya, Heckyl, and co. I really want to see. I love the idea of Heckyl being the Dark/Talon ranger so much that I wrote it into my own Dino Charge stories. It just makes sense to me and I’ve always felt it’d make him more interesting.

[aspiestvmusings]

ZEP: S1 - MAX & ZOEY TIMELINE

This is part of my ZEP: S1 Thoughts Master Post

Here’s the new & updated long analysis post for ZEP S1. This one features the whole season, all 12 episodes.

Just me...dissecting & analyzing the storyline...with focus on Zoey & Team Max. But since the stories are so intertwined, there’s Zoey/dad & Zoey/Simon talk, too. Among other things...relevant to it all...

ZEP: MAX & ZOEY -  THOUGHTS 1 [LINK HERE]  

Zoey/Max Timeline

Yes, unless Max knows something we don’t know about Zoey (that she, just like her dad, actually, secretly loves big gestures and moments) his choice for how he professed his love seems to be wrong way to declare his love for this specific lady. Because according to what we know Zoey is not into music (but then again…the use of a flash mob was a plot twist device by the writers… who just decided to use that surprise for Max/Zoey, when it could’ve been any other character… but this was simply done so that the show could mess with Zoey’s powers and give her character “oh, this isn’t in my head, this is real” moment.) But… that’s just a possible bad choice by the character, not anything horrible. And that’s the way he knows how to say it, even if a small, personal, reveal seems more Zoeys style.

But… are we actually correct in assuming this? After the flashmob she never once mentioned anything about it being “too much of a public declaration for her taste”. She even called it “an amazing gesture”, which tells us that while she might be uncomfortable with “big moments” in general (public speaking…), she is comfortable with them with people she’s closed to (her dad, her best friend…) And we saw her talk about it with Max & with Mo. Her only worry was related to him telling her, in reality (not just in her mind…via heart song) that he has feelings for her. She has not shown any worry regarding it being done via “grand gesture”. So… is it possible that it actually isn’t so “not her” as we assume?

Just as perhaps Max from 1x09 is not as “passive” and “not interested in promotion” as Max from 1x01? Perhaps time & peer reviews, and everything else…has changed him? And he’s actually interested in climbing the career ladder.,.. as opposed to the Max in the Pilot, who told Zoey that he does not want any of that…

Maybe Zoey is her fathers daughter, and actually (secretly) loves big moments & grand gestures? Because her dad is all about “big moments”. And maybe it’s actually really appropriate for Max to tell Zoey about his feelings this way, in “big moments/grand gesture” style flash mob? To honor her dad…in a way. Cause Mitch loves these kind of moments & Mitch is No 1 in Zoey’s life, so…  maybe we’re all wrong in assuming it was “not Zoey’s style”? Everything on the show so far points to this - there’s no indication that she didn’t like the “big gesture”. The only reason why it “freaked her out” is because of her superpower...which he had no knowledge of at that time/moment.

We saw the events through Zoey’s eyes & her POV on what’s going on with/between her & her bff.

From Max’s POV this is what’s going on with Zoey/his relationship with Zoey:

She ends their regular movie nights…with no explanation. Something that they’ve done…forever…since they are best friends. (He probably thinks it’s because of her dad’s health and that she’s focused on..that… after her promotion he even asks if her “weidness” is because of “her dad” and/or her now being his boss)

She starts acting strangely…around him, and general…and she doesn’t talk to him anymore (it’s been implied that they’re BFF and talk about everything… but she hasn’t told him what’s up with her). He wonders if it’s because of her dad’s health and everything related to it (but he doesn’t know if its only because of that, or if there’s something more/else, too)

He has feelings for her, but he doesn’t tell her (she only finds out cause she can hear his heart songs). Finding out that her BF has deeper feelings for her freaks her out, even though he himself does not pressure her or anything like that..yet. She is the one who assumes their “discussion” at work is presumed as “lovers quarrel” & she is the one who presumes that “is it a date” means he considers a meal together as date…when all he means is “are you free to go” (to the new place which they both wanted to go to..as friends) Up until the flash mob there is zero “pushing” from him.

He only sings love songs to her when he’s single - during the time he’s dating someone else (Autumn) he stops singing to her, because he’s not a cheater. When he’s with someone, he’s with that someone, and devoted to that person..only. So he stops for a while.

He sees & hears her say that the thing she had for/with Simon is over (1x06) & that she’s not doing any of that anymore. Since she doesn’t talk about any of it with him, this is all he knows so he assumes she meant it, and she’s done chasing the engaged man. This is also probably the only inside info she has on the whole Z/S situation - what he sees/hears during the “burnt roses” moment. (So… it is not a nice surprise when he learns in 1x08 that after everything her words were not true, cause it’s not all over/done with S…)

Why he doesnt believe her right away when she tells him of her powers: As a rational person he has a hard time believing her claims about superpowers at first. Also… it seems like such a “lie” to change the subject, and simply avoid giving him an honest answer (yes OR no) But after hearing some more facts he starts believing. And by the time she “glitches” he has no doubt that she’s going through all this…

Both Zoey and Max are emotionally challenged. (tbh, just like Max I believed Autumn when she said that all is cool when they broke up during their morning jog. I’m emotionally challenged, too. I honestly did not know that what she said and what she thought/felt were different, so I get why it came as a surprise to him to learn she wasn’t cool about it) The whole Autumn/Max break-up tells us that Max doesn’t get the subtle clues, and needs to hear the words to know the truth. Hence he believes what Zoey tells him… at first.

He misreads her signals in 1x05 - 1x06 - 1x07 (”I need more Max”, reinstating their movie nights, touching his bicep, commenting she needs more Max in her life, checking him out when he’s shirtless, etc), and based on that confesses his love for her via flashmob. What surprises him is not so much that she doesn’t respond with the same, but that she doesn’t give him an answer…at all. (Mo explained it best to Zoey…later; the boy deserved an answer… even if it’s “I don’t know…yet”. Also… we’ve never heard her say that she didn’t appreciate it because it was a big gesture…so she might not be as uncomfortable with the gesture as we think) Instead she runs, and then she avoids giving him an answer, kinda changing the subject, and telling him about her powers. Instead of telling him the truth right away, cause truth might hurt, but it’s better than avoidance/ignoring.

This is shown later in the episode, when after Zoey finally gives him her…messy & selfish answer… he’s hurt, but content. She tells him that the reasons why she isn’t ready to go from friends to more is because her focus has to be on her dad for now & because she’s afraid that “they” won’t work out & she’ll lose her best ftiend…for good… and she can’t risk that… at this time. This is not the answer he hoped for, but as Mo predicted…this is the answer he accepts. That can be seen in the elevator scene with Simon. He’s OK with waiting & this not being the right time (cause she needs to focus on her dad at the moment). He also doesn’t say they’re done, he asks what she asked - pressing pause on their traditional friends activities like movie nights.

During the 1x07 end elevator convo he also learns that the totally engaged man has been “keeping tabs” on Zoey & Z/M. Which concerns him. Cause why is an engaged man looking at other women & paying attention to whom they socialize with (when his focus should only be on his fiancee)? Like Mo, he probably thinks “the guy is a player” after this convo. And again… he, as Zoey’s friend, is not in the wrong, when he thinks he should “protect” her from the morally questionable guy.

Then in the “very next day basically” he learns that she wasn’t completely honest with him. And since she promised 100% honesty to him, he’s hurt that she as his friend isn’t being honest. She sings him a love song (it is possible that she wasn’t aware of her deep feelings for him…but after this she definitely is…100%)…but then tries to take back the honesty and claim that the truth she spoke is not the truth. But what really hurts him is how her “honesty” from their last convo turns out to be a lie (and we know it is, because we’ve seen Zoey tell her mom & Mo about her real feelings, not the cleaned up version she told Max at the end of 1x07) - and he voices why he’s upset. It’s not because she doesn’t return his feelings, it’s because she wasn’t honest with her best friend. Because through her heart songs he knows for a fact that she has feelings for him - that she loves him, too. So he’s not upset that she doesn’t love him back. He even says it during their bathroom convo - the best reason to be “mad” at her is that she told him she loves him/she’s his, when she didnt mean to tell him this (the truth). Meaning: she thinks it’s “unfair” he’s upset that “she sang him a heart song, when she didn’t mean to”… or in other words: she thinks it’s fair to keep the truth a secret from him…and this rigth after she promised 100% honesty to him… and he doesn’t agree with the secret-keeping.

We saw Max’s feelings progression since Pilot: in 1x01 he THINKS he’s in love with her, in 1x02 he’s a SUCKER for her & by 1x07 he fully admits he LOVES her. With Zoey the timeline is..kinda… starting in 1x06… The “500 miles” moment is her “I think I love you” moment & her heart song to him in 1x08 is basically her “I love you” moment.

She claims she isn’t ready for a relationship because she needs to focus on her dad right now, when in reality she really is torn between two men - and she wants Max to be her emotional support and shoulder to lean on (knowing he loves her, and knowing that he knows that she knows he loves her), while she herself is pursuing another man, Simon. An engaged man she’s obsessed with cause she “finds his body hot & has a grief bond with”. (in reality: her role has mostly been being his grief therapist - and she’s not really told him about her dad that much…so it’s pretty much one-sided anyway) But just as she didn’t want to be the other woman, he doesn’t want to be the other man/third wheel… and that’s understandable.

Then when Max gets the job offer he goes to his best friend for support. And while I personally read the scene as him saying “no, that was not the right answer, but it gave me mine (I’m taking the job)” being a response to her asking “was this the right answer?” because this meant she wasn’t still being honest with him, and instead of giving her her true answer she gave him the answer she thought he wanted to hear… I am willing to accept that what the writers meant was that he wanted her to give a more personal answer and/or ask him to stay because he is a valuable member of the team.

Her reply was as his boss, and co-worker/friend. She only focused on their work relationship, not their personal friendship. She’ll miss sitting across from him… not that she’ll miss him outside work (and  yes…it’s only two floors up, and working in different departments does not mean they can’t hang out oustide work…) but still her answer did not include her role as best friend/possible future romantic partner….even when he asked her to specify the “I’m Your’s Zoey’s” answer - she only focused on the work related part when replying…to that.  This gave him the clarity needed - she’s not into him, so he did the right thing & put space between them. Since she didn’t include the “I’m Yours Zoey” that meant to him that she’d choosen Simon…and  just as it’s very human to grieve and cheat…it’s also very human to feel hurt/heartbroken. And he should not have to subject himself to seeing her with someone else (when he knows she has feelings for both) - making the same mistakes over again she’s made before with her relationships. So his choice was the right one…for both. They need time apart, time to grow as individuals, time to reflect…

Yes his speech in 1x10 was directed mostly to her, but he was adressing the whole 4th floor/Team, really. Cause no-one stood up to give him a “good luck” hug when he came to collect his things. And his best friend didn’t even have any encouraging words to him…on the day he moved to the 6th floor…. and even admitted she didn’t get to get him a “good luck gift” (which he could just assume is because she’s busy with her dad, but we know that while she had 4 days to buy that pen/mouse…and didn’t, she managed to get a plant as housewarming gift for the other man in like 4 hours. And we also know that she voiced no concerns about losing her best friend and a good team member at work…while talking to Mo… yet she had lots of things to say about “the man who just broke up, and whom I said I would not chase anymore, but now that he’s been single for 4 seconds, we can make out and it’s not cheating this time anymore”… so she’s showing no signs of caring about his best friends life changes, while caring a lot about the other mans life changes)

So of course he feels underappreciated on the 4th floor. The peer reviews, the boss, the team manager, the job offer… it all plays a part in his decision. And the D*rk Point boss knows exactly what to say…to make him feel appreciated…something he didn’t feel he got on the 6th floor… but he didn’t realize until he heard Ava point out his good work..with the maze, with the chirp pitch…and though he may not realize that Ava, too, has her own agenda, hearing that he is appreciated…as a worker & as a human…made him feel good  (we saw how important positive feedback is for everyone during the peer reviews plot), and he realized he didn’t get any of that, really, on the 4th floor. And once again… while he may have secretly wanted to hear her say “stay”, what he actually really wanted/needed was for her to encourage him, and show genuine happiness for him, and for her to be completely honest with him. And he didn’t feel like that’s something she could be right now. To put it in her own terms: “everyone is so nice & polite, and no one is giving me the raw & honest feedback”…cause her reply to him when asked about the job offer was “polished” & “nice”, not “honest & raw”. (and I think we all agree that her telling him to take it  & him taking it was the right move…for all… cause they both need space & to grow individually)

In the Pilot we learn that Max thinks he’s not management material & he’s not looking for career opportunity. So to Zoey’s knowledge this is not in character for him? So whether or not he’s changed during the time between then & now, to Max’s knowledge she knows that he likes being just a coder. So for her to not know him…and not remember that he’s told her this, could be disappointing. So her reply: That’s a great career opportunity MIGHT tell him that she doesn’t know him and what he wants. (this is the flashmob argument: we, fans, think that a flashmob is “not Zoeys style” & we, fans, think that promotion is “not Max’s style”. We might be wrong, cause we don’t know everything about the characters + they can change…over time…)

Another thing she says to him when he asks advice regarding the job offer is “I would never stop you from going after what you want”. When they both know that what he really wants is her - he’s made it clear. And yet… here she is saying she’d not stop him, when she is “stopping him” from doing just that. And at the same time…as pointed out in the last part… is a promotion what Max really wants? Cause it is not the case for “1x01 Max”…and we & Zoey haven’t been made aware that he’s changed his mind. So… does his best friend not know him? (or does she known him better…and know he’s changed his POV on promotions)

Max & Zoey have been best friends & colleagues…for 5 years…since the first day on the job. From Max’s POV…something changed..suddenly…a few months ago. For a while he didn’t know why and what, but now he knows why.  And just like it took time for Zoey to adjust to her “power”, same applies to Max (adjusting to her powers).

From Max’s POV…his best friend is dishonest with him, she avoids him, she has changed, she comes to him when she needs him… but she herself doesn’t offer anything back (yes, he is aware she’s grieving, and he understands it, but his best friend is not letting her friends help her during the time she needs to lean on family/friends). We have rarely seen her talk to him about anything else than office gossip…or her powers related stuff…recently. And it’s heavily implied they used to talk…all the time… about everything. His best friend also set him up with another woman…just to avoid him after she learned that he has feelings for her. His best friend claims her focus has to be her dad, and she can’t do more than friendship at this time, but at the same time she continues pursing another man. And this after she promised to be 100% honest with him. And she betrayes that trust the “very next day”. So he has every right to be upset, and hurt.

Zoey has every right to be upset about the fact that she thinks Max is “pushing her to have feelings for him” (when they both know… for a fact..after her heart song that she does have feelings for him), but in this case Max has every right to be upset about the fact that he thinks “she is avoiding him”. She has the right to grieve, so does he. If she has the right to be upset that Simon doesn’t return her feelings… then Max has the right to be upset that she doesn’t return his feelings. The same rules have to apply to all, not just main character. And if you look at the storylines closely, you’ll see the parallels… the things that Zoey is upset about (fans are upset about) regarding Simon’s behaviour (when pursuing him) are the same exact things that Max is upset about regarding Zoey (his pursuit of her). The same way that some fans point out Max is “obsessed with Zoey” there’s a parallel story with Zoey is “obsessed with Simon”. All Max wanted from Zoey was what Zoey wanted from Simon - clarity. For her/him to have clarity. And just as she felt the other man didn’t have it, he felt that she didn’t have it.

Because we, the audience, know that Zoey (thinks she has) has feelings for both men - her behaviour in past episodes (especially 1x06 - 1x07) and her heart song confirm that she has feelings for Max, and because he knows her secret, he knows that that’s a fact. So he has every right to be upset that she  “doesn’t like him back/doesn’t want to be with him”, when he knows that she does love him back, while claiming the opposite. And she won’t talk to him about it…

From his POV it is as follows: they both have admitted they love each other. She claims she needs time to deal with her grief and can’t risk their friendship. She tells him she loves him…and the very next minute goes to another mans arms - that’s the part that upsets him. He’s not upset that she’s not returning his feelings/not wanting to date him, nope. He’s “upset” because he, as her best friend who knows her & her past relationships, knows that her thing with the engaged man will not end well for her.  And yes, he is not wrong in saying that in a case when she has feelings for two men it’s a better option to choose the best friend, who has always been there for her (she’s said this herself) than the totally engaged (until just recently) & morally questionable, emotionally unavailable grieving hot guy.                      

While Max choices have been just “mistakes” (perhaps not the best idea to confess your feelings via flash mob to a girl who only listens to podcasts?), then Simon’s choices have been actual “bad decisions” - cheating. And though both Simons & Zoey’s bad choices have been rooted in their grief/depression, they cannot “excuse” it with being a mess due to grief. Instead of continuing the downward spiral they should own their mistakes, acknowledge them as not good choices. It’s one thing to use the wrong gesture to confess your love to somone, and completely another thing to cheat on your fiancee (and blame it on being a mess cause of grief). Those two things should not be comparable.

I can’t believe how some people see Max response to her “no one understand why you got the promotion” (translation: you didn’t deserve it) as harsh. Like her cruel words were “justified” because she’s grieving...or just because…even though she was not right to say them, but his behaviour has been “unacceptable”. Yes, his comments to Zoey are not the friendliest (when he’s telling why he chooses 6th floor over 4th… after the “The Boy is Mine” sing-off, but they are nothing compared to Zoey’s “you don’t deserve this promotion & you are selfish for not being there for me whenever I need something from you”.

We can all see & understand that each character has flaws & makes mistakes & says some things they shouldn’t. But some of these things are “worse” than the others. And his reply to her rude-fuled-by-her-anger-phase-of-grieving comment to him was tame. He was actually quite calm & cool during his response to her (you’re calling me selfish?). And he directed the coded message at Zoey on the 6th floor directly at her because he knows she’s emotionally challenged, so she needed to undrerstand that it was directed at her, too…so she’d start understanding that she hurt him with her words/behaviour too. He wanted her to get that message, cause he had seen that until now she had no idea how her actions/inactions affect him.

He may seem like being “upset” with her… but it’s also understandable, because she kinda broke his heart, and just as she’s allowed to not return his feelings, he’s allowed to feel sad that she doesn’t. To put it in ��fairytale terms”. But he’s in no way pressuring her to return his feelings & start a relationship now. All he wants/needs from her is honesty & clarity.

And mostly… when will Zoey finally give Simon the advice he needs - go see a professional therapist! What the man needs is professional help not a mind-reader, who is a mess herself. And is Zoey doesn’t stop keeping it all in and won’t talk to her family/friends about her grief, then she, too, will soon need professional help… (therapist).

Through all of this Max’s there for her:  he supports her when she’s interested in the new guy..(until he finds out the man is taken); he supports her to go after the promotion; he brings her dad… his “closest thing to a dad he’s had” soft food…that he can eat, he goes to support her when she gets a call about her dad’s health & he finds a way to get her to her dad..fast; he saves her “glitch song” and turns it into a pitch for the CEO; he goes to check on her, & gives her her mom’s message..even when he’s hurt by her (and on top of that he gives her good friend advice about her dad). And she does acknowledge this..on several occasions. So…this “social distancing” (physical distance between them during work & off work) is needed to make her/them start to see things from different perspective, and realize some truths… that only distance/change could give them.

There is a real inconsistancy between what she really feels & thinks…and  what she says/acknowledges she feels & thinks.

And it all won’t start moving forward & she won’t start character development until she’ll truly embrace her powers. Cause she still seems to view them as “burden” instead of “helpful tool”. Sure… she has started to realize the good she can do with having this ability (in general Howie/Abigail situation was the first time she really used her ability to really improve the situation & first time she really emphatized...though we could say that in a way the first case was her downstairs neighbour, Bonnie), but until she fully embraces it all, she’ll remain “lost”. The turning point will be actually losing her dad…for real.

There is a lot that I don’t understand 100% about what the show is trying to do… with Max “pushing* Zoey for answers to his confession of love” & his reaction to her answer about whether he should take the job offer…or even why they keep saying there’s a deep bond between Z & S, when all they’ve established is that they talked to each other about losing their dads & are physically attracted to each other. Or even why Zoey says that they kissed, when in reality he kissed her. Or Simon’s behaviour…which I don’t think is ONLY just about not dealing with his grief…and all that.

* I don’t see it as him pushing her or demanding answers or anything like that. But this is the sense many get, hence I used this word